Codename : Excalibur !
by Eric J. Alderson
Summary: Six years after Crocodile Tears, Alex joined the RAF and is about to marry Sabina, when he has to hide from Scorpia again. He'll be involved in a new invasion of the Falklands by the Argies and his final confrontation with his worst Nightmare : Scorpia !
1. Prologue

**Introduction to Codename Excalibur.**

**Summary**_ : This story happens six years after Crocodile Tears, and Scorpia Rising never happened. Alex is joining the RAF as fighter pilot, and is about to marry Sabina, when he has to hide from Scorpia again. That's how he'll be involved in a new invasion of the Falkland Islands by the Argies that would lead him to his final confrontation with his worst nightmare : Scorpia !_

There will be several OC in this story, and they'll be listed here with background information (if they're from another storyline I've written, as that will be the case for some characters from Odyssey Dawn who will appear in this story !)

**Vice Air Marshal Edward Peter Alexander** : This is **James Alexander**'s grandfather, and **Peter Alexander**'s first born son (**Peter** is the hero of a book I'm writing about the Eagles Pilots in the RAF during WWII). About **Squadron Leader James Alexander**, 617 Squadron RAF, see my story "Odyssey Dawn" (via my profile)

**Squadron Leader Merril** : Commanding Officer of the Flight 1435.

**Group Captain Mitchell** : Mount Pleasant Station's commander.

**Seargent Luke Fitzwilliam** : Senior Air Traffic Controler in Mount Pleasant. Also he's a former SAS who joined the ATC service after a training accident, that's how he knows Alex well (at it'll be shown in later chapters.)

**Mayor (Major) Perales** : Argentinian pilot, leader of one of the Argentinian Super Etendard squadrons. Son of a veteran of the 1982's conflict (a Mirage pilote who has been shot down above Port Stanley)

**Coronel (Colonel) Antonio Esteban** : CAG (Carrier Air Group, or commander of all squadrons based on an aircraft carrier) in the Argentinian Naval Aviation. He's a former Skyhawk pilot who flew back in 1982. His brother has been killed at the time at Mount Tumbledown, and he has ever since wanted revenge. He's member of Scorpia, and will work closely with Alan Blunt.

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><p><em>Disclaimer : I don't own Alex Rider, who's property of Anthony Horrowitz. However I own all the OC's i'll introduce in this Story.<em>

_The song is "You'll be in my heart" from Phil Collins, version performed by Celtic Woman._

**Prologue**

**_Come stop your crying, It will be all right  
>Just take my hand, Hold it tight<br>I will protect you from all around you  
>I will be here, Don't you cry <em>**

**_For one so small, you seem so strong  
>My arms will hold you keep you safe and warm<br>This bond between us can't be broken  
>I will be here, don't you cry <em>**

**_'Cause you'll be in my heart, _**

**_yes, you'll be in my heart  
>From this day on, now and forever more <em>**

Alex was pacing for nearly six hours in Mount Pleasant's hospital when he finally heard a baby crying... He stormed in the delivery room to see his wife smiling widely, holding a little bundle in her arms... He came closer and what he saw in her arms would definitely change his life forever.

**_Come stop your crying, It will be all right  
>Just take my hand, hold it tight<br>I will protect you from all around you  
>I will be here, Don't you cry<br>_**

**_'Cause you'll be in my heart, _**

**_yes, you'll be in my heart  
>From this day on, now and forever more<br>Oh You'll be in my heart, no matter what they say  
>You'll be here in my heart, always <em>**

As she saw the smile on his face, Sabina mouthed 'take him' to him... As he cuddled his tiny little son in his arms, Alex's heart melt down in a puddle... He was a daddy... This was Sabina's and his little bundle of joy, their son they'll raise up to be more than themselves... As he looked deep in his son's blue eyes, he vowed there and then that he'll always be there for him !

**_Don't listen to them 'cause what do they know?  
>We need each other to have, to hold<br>They'll see in time, I know  
>When destiny calls you,you must be strong<br>I may not be with you, but you've got to hold on  
>They'll see in time I know<br>We'll show them together _**

"What's his name", he asked his wife ?

"James Alexander McKittrick... ", she answered him in a whisper, caressing her son's forehead...

"Whow... Thank you, Sabina... You've given me the most beautiful gift ever... I love you both !"

"I Love You, Alex... You too, James... "

**_Cause you'll be in my heart, _**

**_believe me, you'll be in my heart  
>From this day on, now and forever more <em>**

**_Yes You'll be in my heart, _**

**_No matter what they say  
>You'll be here in my heart, always <em>**


	2. Chapter 1 : The beginning of a new life

_Disclaimer : I don't own Alex Rider, who's property of Anthony Horrowitz. However I own all the OC's i'll introduce in this Story._

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 : The Beginning of a new life<strong>

_Cranwell RAF College, June 2011_

Proudly standing in front of his friends and his honorary sister, Alex Rider, now Pilot Officer Rider, received his wings from Vice Air Marshal Alexander. This was the closure of an era of sufferings in the hands of the MI6, era that ended when Tulip Jones was promoted head of the agency, finally being able to free him and help him fulfulling one of his youth's dream : joining the RAF.

Now, a totally new life was opening to him. He was to join squadron 43 in Leuchars, Scotland, where he would fly on one of the best aircrafts of the RAF, the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4.

As the ceremony ended, he joined his friends at the Mess Hall where a party was thrown up for the graduates of promotion "Douglas Bader". There, Jack hugged him first, tears in her eyes. Her "Little Brother", as she liked to call him, was finally grown up and free of the clutches of MI6, doing a job he loved with people he would learn to trust. Next came his best friend, Tom Harris, who followed him in Cranwell and joined a week earlier the SAR squadron in Leuchars, flying on Westland Sea King. And, last but not least, came his first true and trusted friend he met so long ago in Wimbledon, the only one besides Tom and even more the first one to know the truth about his line of work. Sabina Pleasure, who became with time the love of his life, was the first one he ever trusted, the one who saved him when he was drowning in the pools of despair after his mission in Africa where he nearly died by the hand of Desmond McCain. All the time he spent in hospital, she was there beside him, and after he left St Dominics and MI-6, or more precisely Alan Blunt, tried again to blackmail him in another mission, she used her knowledge of the international press to put the truth in the open, what then triggered a parliamentary commission, and finally Alex was freed from Blunt's clutches when he was Jailed on order of the Prime Minister, Tulip Jones taking over as head of the Secret Service.

Soon enough, he was called in Liverpool Street where he was notified that he had been awarded a million pounds on an accound managed by his guardian till he got 18, account where already had been transferred his parent's and uncle's possessions. Even more, MI-6 was ready to pay for any school where he wanted to go. He asked to be transferred to Sabina's college and, as soon as he got his diploma, he enlisted in the RAF to become a fighter pilot as his grandfather who fought in the Falklands as a Harrier pilot. He moved to Cranwell with Tom who joined him in the RAF, but not before he asked Sabina to marry him as soon as he got his wings. In fact, their wedding was to be celebrated the next week in Chelsea, just before they moved to Leuchars where he had already rented a lovely cottage, courtesy of Mrs Jones... As she came to him, he gathered her in his arms and kissed with all the love he had for her. This was for them the end of two long years of longing, him being only able to meet her when he had leaves from Cranwell.

"_Ah, Sabina_", he whispered to her, _"I can't wait to be next week, to finally marry you and start our little normal family life together in our new Scottish home !"_

_"Me too, sweetheart... Well, about a 'normal' family life, I'm sure that it'll be more than that, knowing your propension of attracting troubles like a magnet"_, she answered him with a smirk.

"_Me ? Attracting troubles ? I don't know where you've got that from..."_, he retorted, smiling widely to her, and as she was about to reply he hushed her with his lips on hers.

"_Oy, Lovebirds_", then interrupted Tom, "_Look who's there !_"

"_I swear, Tom, you've got the worst timing I ever..._", Alex started but, seeing what or more like it Who triggered his best fiend's reaction, his smirk vanished, replaced by his old blank face... "_Oh Shit... Not again_", was his only show of emotion as Tulip Jones was approaching him.

"_Alex, Congrats on your promotion. Sabina, may I have a word in private with your fiancee ? You're also invited of course !_"

"_Well, if that's for what I think it's about, my answer stands clear : N.O. !_"

"_No, it's not what you're thinking about. Please, could we take this somewhere more private before attracting unwanted attention ? It's about Scorpia !_"

"_Damnit ! Ok, let's go to my room then. Sab, you comin' ?_"

"_I'm right with you, Alex !_"

Ten minutes later, they were gathered in Alex's room, Sabina seated on Alex's bunk while he paced in front of Mrs Jones who seated at his desk...

"_Well, Alex, Alan Blunt has escaped. And as we now for sure, he's been recruited by Scorpia in the hope he'll destroy you and all what we've worked hard those last years. That's why you've got to move tomorrow to Leuchars for your conversion on Typhoon. And as soon as you're ready, you'll move with Sabina, Jack and Tom to Mount Pleasant RAF Station in the Falklands, where the Pleasures are already waiting for you. There, Alex, you'll join Flight 1435 as Flying Officer. You'll be the number two in this squadron of four Typhoon. Tom will be joining the SAR flight where he'll fly on Sea King as pilot for Rescue-2._"

"_Well, even if I'm transferred there, I can't see why they could not find me there... _"

"_They won't because you'll move there as Flying Officer Jonathan Alexander McKittrick. That way, it'll make it easier if Sabina, Tom or Jack calls you Alex as it'll be your second name... Jack will move as your sister, Jacqueline McKittrick, and Tom as Thomas Harrison. Sabina will for herself move as your wife Sandy McKittrick, nee Anderson. _"

"_But what about Alex Rider ?_"

"_He'll be dead with his fiancee Sabina Pleasure, his best friend Tom Harris, and all his family in an air crash over the North Sea while moving to Hamburg to see a friend of his... A faked crash of course_"

"_Well, I can see you've thought about nearly everything. What about Sabina's parents ? And our accomodations there ?_"

"_Well, Sabina's father will be joining you there as correspondant for the London Times in Stanley, but will be living in Mount Pleasant. They'll have a bungalow close to yours. You'll live there with your wife and your sister in a great bungalow. Tom will have the one between yours and Sabina's parents one !_"

"_All right, then..._", he finally sighed. "_Let's get this show on the road, as there is nothing else to do !_"

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><p><strong>That's it, end of chapter 1. In next chapter, we'll see Alex in his new job at RAF Mount Pleasant RAF Station, Falklands Islands.<strong>

**Please, review the story to let me know what you think about it and give me your suggestions for the plot...  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 2 : A new name, a new Home !

_Here comes chapter 2. For further informations on the Falklands and Mount Pleasant RAF Station, there are some information on Wikipedia I've checked to see if they were correct (and that they are)._

_Just search there for the tags "RAF_Mount_Pleasant", "Eurofighter_Typhoon" and "No._1435_Flight_RAF"_

_Also, thanks to all of you who reviewed this story. Your comments are what fuels my will to write. I can't swear that the next chapters will follow so fast, but it'll take a minimum of two to four weeks for a chapter to be published as I'm also working on Odyssey Dawn (another story I'm writing about the air operations in Libya that started this spring._

**Disclaimer : I don't own Alex Rider, who's property of Anthony Horrowitz. **

**However I own all the OC's i'll introduce in this Story.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2 : A new name, a new Home !<strong>

_Mount Pleasant RAF Station, Falkland Islands, eight months later_

A lone Typhoon was flying low above the waters of the southern Atlantic Ocean. In the cockpit, the pilot was performing his last checks before landing in Mount Pleasant, East Falkland. As he was closing on the coast near East Cove, he climbed back to two thousand feet and called the station's ATC.

"_Mount Pleasant, Typhoon Zero Three on final, request landing clearance_"

"_Typhoon Three Zero, you're clear to land runway 28. Once landed proceed immediately to your parking area !_"

"_Typhoon Three Zero, wilco, Mount Pleasant !_"

He then pulled back the throttle, maintaining a speed of 250 knots and descended progressively all the while aligning his aircraft on runway 28, mumbling all his operations in his helmet as he was performing his landing ops.

"_Speed two fifty... angle OK... fifteen hundred feet... threshold ten clicks... OK, flaps fifteen... right_", then, calling the controller again, "_Mount Pleasant, Typhoon Three Zero, visual on runway 28 !_"

"_Copy, Three Zero !_"

"_OK_", he mumbled again, "_reducing speed to one eighty, pulling up a bit on the stick... right... gear down, flaps thirty..._"

The landing gear deployed and locked, jolting the aircraft a bit. Three green lights lit up on the instrument panel, acknowledging that the gear was properly deployed.

"_OK, gear locked, three greens... Let's put this bird on the ground !_"

He slowed down a bit again, staying on the correct slope, and touched down just after the runway's threshold. He then deployed the air brakes and pushed on the rudder pedals, activating the main wheel brakes, the Typhoon slowing down fast, and as he was around twenty knots he retracted the air brakes, give a bit of thrust and rolled to the first runway exit, and taxied to his parking area, not far from his bungalow where his family was waiting for him.

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><p>As soon as he parked his aircraft in front of his hardened shelter, he shut the engines down and opened the canopy, letting the warm air enter the aircraft. He removed his helmet and, having put it on his HUD, he extracted himself of the cockpit before climbing down the ladder. As soon as he was on the ground, he heard another pilot calling him and, as he turned, he saw him waiting near a Roover jeep...<p>

"_Hey, Johnny, climb in, I'll drive you to the briefing room, then I'll got you back home. Sally told me earlier she was making some carbonara pasta today !_", his friend Thomas told him,

"_Comin', Tommy Boy !_", Alex then answered.

Yes, the pilot was Alex, you guessed it all right. He arrived eight months earlier in the Falklands, and had already mastered his new identity, as had done his friend Tom. The only one to slip from time to time was Tom's fiancee, Sandy, but she was getting slowly used to his new identity, and the slip wasn't too dangerous as his second name was Alexander. He even told his fellow pilots that his friends used to call him Alex back in England, and of course they immediately gave him his new callsign : Alex !

He climbed in the Roover and they were soon speeding on the Taxiways to reach the station's briefing room. As they arrived there, they saw Alex's CO, Squadron Leader Merril, rushing out of his office, quite upset.

"_Everything's all right, Sir ?_", asked Alex.

"_Like Hell it is ! It has been four days I told those blasted idiots there in HQ that the Argies were up to something, and they still haven't given me intelligence about those blasted bastards..._ "

"_Well, Sir, maybe I'll be able to help you. Can we go to your office ? I'll need to use a secure line to place a call, and I'll be glad if only you would be aware of this call..._", Alex told him.

"_Okay_", answered Merril after thinking about it a moment. "_Let's get there. You too, Harrison, you're as concerned about this as everyone on this base, well I mean if it's OK with you of course, McKittrick !_"

"_No problem, Sir, Tommy here is one of the only ones aware of what's going on here now, so he can come with us_", Alex answered while motioning Tom to follow them.

As they were about to enter, Alex stopped his CO.

"_Sir, I think it'll be better if only you and Harrison are aware of the content of this phone call. I'll explain it to you later why..._"

"_OK, McKittrick_", he then turned to his aide, "_Pat, would you please get to the transmissions to see if there's any news about the Argies and then ask the Mess Hall to bring us three Lunches with tea and coffee ?_ "

"_Aye, Sir_", answered corporal Patrick Lance, closing the door behind him.

As soon as he was gone, Alex took the phone and dialled directly Mrs Jones office in MI-6.

"_Tulip Jones_."

"_Rider here. Seems the Argies are moving, but no way to get data from the HQ. Do you per any luck have something that might be of some help to us ?_"

"_Well, we got really few HUMINT information, all we got is some SIGINT data, and mostly from our recon satellites... All we know for sure, Alex, is that their Navy has sailed for training, and that their Air Force is in a high state of readiness. Nothing of this of course could validate any possibility of threat against you but still..._", she answered him after a small pause.

"_Ask her if she knows something about the Brazilian carrier Sao Paulo_", whispered Merril...

"_Why not_", answered Alex, "_Tulip ? My squadron leader suggest me to ask you if you've got any information about the whereabouts of the Brazilian Navy's aircraft carrier Sao Paulo. We know for sure the Argentinian naval aviation operates often from this carrier for training, so..._"

"_Of course, Alex. We know that the last time we've looked at it, it was anchored in Rio. But this information is about 48 hours old_"

"_Damn... As we know, they could have sailed and already be close to join the Armada... Could you investigate that for us ?_"

"_OK, Alex. I'll order a retasking of our recon satellites for a search along Brazilian and Argentinian coasts._"

"_Don't search only near the coasts, Tulip. As we know, they could have sailed in open seas_."

"_I'll do that right now, Alex. But it'll take some time. I'll contact you within the next 90 minutes with any information I had been able to gather_."

"_Thanks, Tulip. _"

"_Oh, and by the way, be careful Alex. No one can know who you really are besides your CO, all right ?_"

"_No problem at all, Tulip. I confirm he's the only one besides my family and Tom to be aware of the situation. I'll wait here for your call, just call back on the same line._"

As soon as she hung off the phone, he saw the glance Squadron Leader Merril sent him...

"_Yes, Sir ?_", he asked his CO, hoping he would understand why he had to keep this secret.

"_Well... What's that all about ? And how the Hell do you know the head of our Secret Services enough to call her by her first name ?_"

"_Truth to be told, Sir, McKittrick isn't my real name. I used to work for MI-6 earlier. If I'm here it's because I'm hiding from powerful enemies that wanted to kill me. They faked my death and here I came as soon as I was promoted from Cranwell and got through my transformation on Typhoon in Leuchars. Only my family and Tom are aware of my real identity and of my history, and I'd like it to remain as it is..._"

"_No problem, McKittrick_", answered Merril, flabbergasted. "_I can understand your need for secrecy. So you were an agent then..._"

"_Yep. But any other information is still highly classified, even for my own family. They only know about the great lines_."

"_Right... I then think it's best if we wait here for your ex-boss to call us as I had foreseen it._" He then got up as he heard a knock on the door. "_Ah, thanks Pat_.", then turning to Alex and Tom, "_Here are our Lunches, gentlemen_."

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><p>Truth to be told, Tulip Jones called back exactly ninety minutes later, just the time for us to enjoy a peaceful meal while I briefed my CO about my real background.<p>

"_Squadron Leader Merril_", he answered as he picked the phone up.

"_Mrs Jones here. May I speak with F/O McKittrick_ _?_"

"_Of course, Madam_.", he answered, handing me the phone.

"_Rider here_."

"_Well, you were right Alex, the Sao Paulo is not in Rio anymore, just as you thought. I've asked for a search in the South Atlantic, but it'll take some time..._"

"_Just fine_", he sighed, quite upset by this lack of real time information. "_We'll proceed on the assumption that they're sailing towards us. I'll pass the information to my CO and we'll take precautionary measures to detect their approach before it's too late if they happen to come for us..._"

"_Also, we got this piece of information from Mossad... It seems Scorpia has risen again, and they would be highly active in South America..._"

"_Holy crap ! That would only mean one thing : they're the ones behind all this mayhem !_"

"_That's what I fear, but I have no other information on the subject. I'll call you later if we got anything new for you._"

"OK_. If I'm not here in my CO's, then just call home. Either Sabina or Jack can answer if I'm not there !_"

"_Will do. Good luck, and Godspeed, Alex_."

"_Thanks, Tulip, seems we'll need all the luck available here !_"

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><p><strong>That's it. The end for Chapter Two. In the next one, you'll get more information about how Alex and Sabina cope with this kind of life in the middle of nowhere and their family life, and also see the tension slowly building up. So see you in next chapter : When rise the sound of the war drums...<strong>


	4. Chapter 3 : When rise the sound of the w

**A.N. : Here comes chapter 3. Now, you'll have a bit more informations about what's going to happen in the story, and also the first insight of Alex and Sabina's new family life... **

**To answer to some people's fear that this story would end as a "patriotic anti-Argentinian" one, you'll see how I introduce this new conflict, and in the following chapters you'll see also how Scorpia will be closely involved in it. It has never nor will ever be my intention, quite the contrary. I tend to show more precisely what war can make to people, how it brings the demons out of the humanity, ans also how the scars of wars are always difficult to heal !**

**Also, As an amateur historian, I'm well aware that the 1982 conflict was caused by a little group of people, high in the political and military command spheres, that wanted to lure the population from the poor economical situation and the Junte's exactions at the time by pulling them in this kind of "patriotic war"... In the end, both Argentinian and british soldiers were the loosers, dying in a war they never wanted...**

**But enough of those philosophical considerations, here comes...**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3 : When rise the sound of the war drums…<strong>

_Mount Pleasant, one hour later_

Alex, after he got the informations from MI-6, left the CO's office for his bungalow, located at the south-eastern limit of the station. As soon as he entered, he was assaulted by the smell of frying bacon and spices coming from the kitchen. Soon he saw Sabina exiting the room to launch herself in his arms.

"_Gods, I've missed you so much !_"

"_Me to, Love, even if it was just a short two days mission to Ascension, that's not as if I had left for a three months deployment, isn't it ?_"

"_Well, still I missed you._"

"_As I missed you too, love. Hmmm_", he then said, sniffling, "_I can tell you've been at work again, it seems… Carbonara ?_"

"_Well yes, but how…_"

"_Tommy told me, in fact..._"

"_The little sneak !_", Sabina playfully hissed. "_And how was your trip to Ascension, by the way ?_"

"_Not too bad, even if they're in a frenzy because they'll host an exercise for two of our FGR-4 squadrons soon. By the way, my old friend James will be there, and he promised me he'll pop up to spend a few days with us as he's to to come here to deliver us the new Catbar Typhoons and train us so that we'll be able to operate from our new carrier, the Independence._"

"_You mean this nice scottish guy we met in Leuchars ?_"

"_Yep. He's still leading the 617__th__ squadron who transformed last year on Typhoon FGR-4 Catbar._"

"_Well, I'll be glad to see him again, he was a really nice fellow…_"

"_Mee too, sweetheart, and I'll also be glad to have them near, with al the ruckus the Argentinian politics and military are makin' again…_"

"_They may perhaps be barking, but I don't think them foolish enough to try again the '82 stunt, don't you think ?_"

"_I don't know… Sure, the Junte is no more there, but their latest leaders have been quite virulent against our presence here… It's like hearing again Perron barking "Falklands are ours !", you know_"

"_Well, let's talk about something livelier than those strategic considerations. You know that Mom and Dad will join us tomorrow at dinner, right ?_"

"_Yes, I know. I'll be glad to see your father again, he's fun to talk to, and he always have better informations about the international situation than what they feed us from London…_"

"_I know, Honey. And also Jack can't wait to get her long awaited chat with Mum. Those two, when they're together you'd bed they're a carbon-copy of the old-fashioned Chatterboxes-ladies…_"

"_I heard that, John !_", Jack shouted from the kitchen.

"_Hey, that was Sally, not me !_", he then sighed as he entered the kitchen.

"_Thanks, Honey !_", playfully hissed Sabina, entering right behind him…

"_Oh, sorry, Love_", he replied, grinning from ear to ear…

"_OK, when you'll have finished your little banter, you could perhaps come and help me set the table ? Dinner is ready !_", Jack called again.

Later that night, as they were cuddled in the sofa watching an episode of Eastenders on the BBC, Alex and Sabina enjoyed finally some quality time alone, something he had not got much in the last weeks due to his involvment in the preparation of the "Southern Watch" exercises with the 617th squadron from Lossiemouth and the 11th squadron from Coningsby, the initially scheduled quadrons 31 from Marham and 43 from Leuchars had been redeployed in Italy to survey the peace process in Libya, now that Gadaffi had been overthrown.

But for now, he was just enjoying being home with his lovely wife, even if in the recesses of his mind he still was concerned by the sound of war drums coming from Argentina, even more that they had the back-up from the Brazilians who lent them the deck of their own aircraft carrier "Sao Paulo" for their naval aviation, mostly composed of the lethal Super Etendard SEM, modernized version sold to them by Sarkozy, or "Shark-O-Leon" as he had nicknamed him, and able to fire the dreaded Exocet air-sea missile. Well, it was still sheer luck indeed they had not been able to purchase the SU-27 Flanker D from the russians, or then they would have been deep in troubles for sure. Still, the order of Swedish Saab Grippen fighters for their airforce was no good news either…

Sensing her husband tensed, Sabina frowned…

"_You're OK, love ? I can tell something's bothering you…_"

"_Well, always the same bells ringin' in my mind… I can turn the problem either way, I still believe that the Argentinian's higher-ups are up to no good… I had always this sixth sense thing going off when something was amiss back then when I worked for Blunt, and I everytime proved correct…_"

"_You know what they say, honey. Always trust your instincts !_"

"_You know, If I was doing what my instincts are telling me to do, we'd be starting a war against them, and that's something both myself and our country does not want to do !_"

"_Hmmm… Come, it's late, let's go to bed. You'll have a clearer mind tomorrow to think about this…_", she said with a seductive wink

"_That's a call I won't deny, honey_", he answered, scoopig her in his arms, bridal style, and carrying her to their bedroom, closing the door with his foot…

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><p><em>Mount Pleasant Air Traffic Control, two days later.<em>

"_Hey, Luke_", called a controller, "_could you come here ? I've got a problem with Typhoon 4_"

"_Well, Andy, what's up ?_", answered seargent Luke Fitzwilliam, Mount Pleasant's senior ATC controller.

"_One second he was right there, fifty miles west of Cape Meredith at level twenty, and the next one he had disappeared from the scope…_"

"_Well, perhaps his skweaker is donw, that happen sometimes… Let's switch in active mode and call flight 1435 so they can prepare a patrol to investigate that…_"

"_Okay. Switching in active mode_", the young controler said as he switched the active doppler radar on. "_Hey, look at that, Luke… I got lots of surface contacts over there, around eighty miles west of Cape Meredith…"_

"_Okay, now something's amiss there. I'll call a searching party on those coordinates. Sound the alert for the QRA, let's see what's there !_", answered Fitzwilliam, moving to his desk, setting in motion the chain of events that would later be known as the first engagement of the second Falklands war !

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><p><em>Twenty minutes later, ten thousand feet over Mound Young…<em>

"_Typhoon Leader to two and three, let's climb to level twenty, then we'll proceed to Jerry's patro area !_"

"_Two, wilco_"

"_Three, copy_"

"_All right, let's push it up !_", then called squadron leader Merril, pushing his throttle to full afterburner and pulling the stick to him, his Typhoon starting to climb fast…

"_Leader, Two_", called Alex, "_I got something on my long range radar, about eighty miles from here… moving slow… Seems like ships to me…_"

"_Ships ? Nothing shoud be there ! Mount Pleasant, you heard that ?_"

"_Affirmative, Typhoon One. I'm searching trough the manifests but I'm pretty sure there should be no ship over there that would show on our radars…_"

"_OK. Have you had any update on the Argentinian navy's fleet yet ? I know they're supposed to sail along their coast, but still…_"

"_Their last known position was somewhere northwest from your position, about two hundred and fifty miles… but that report is around 24 hours old…_"

"_Damn_", Alex cut, "_If they sailed at eighteen knots all night, that should place them where we're detecting ships right now… I'd bet my best shirt they've joined with the Sao Paulo yesterday and are proceeding towards us !_"

"_Copy that, two. I think your instincts are right again._", answered Merrill. "_Okay, Mout Pleasant, we'll go have a quick look at this contact and then we'll continue to search for Typhoon 4._"

"_Sir, I may be wrong_", Alex called again, "_but I'd guess they shot Jerry down. If they're here, that means only one thing : they plan to take the Falklands again !_"

* * *

><p><em>Argentinian Armada's fighter group's CAG,<br>__Aircraft carrier Sao Paulo, eighty miles west of Cape Meredith._

"_Senhor Coronel, I have three spots on my radar, eighty miles east, IFF negative_"

"_Graçias, Teniente._", the CAG answered and then turned to the carrier's captain. "_It seems we've got another patrol on our back…_"

"_Indeed, Coronel._", the Brazilian captain answered. "_Operations, launch the alert patrol !_", he then ordered.

"_Si, Senhor Capitano !_"

The Argentinian colonel, a former fighter pilot who flew Skyhawks in the '82 war, hurried fast on the bridge and saw the two pairs of Super-Etendard being launched from the ship's font catapults…

- "_Per Favor, Dios mio, don't let them signal our fleet !_", he whispered as the four fighters zoomed above the carrier, heading west towards the three british Typhoons.

* * *

><p><em><strong>A.N. : <strong>_

_**Voila. That's the end for this chapter. Hope you'll like it, and also that the way I write about this delicate topic is not to "harsh".**_

_**Also, hope the few parts in spanish are correct, else just leave me a note and I'll correct it. **_

_**See you 'round for Chapter 4 : On the run again...**_


	5. Chapter 4 : On the run again !

**A.N. : Here we are... The first air combats... But not only that, also the first hint of Scorpia in the story... and the reappearance of the one who has become my "most beloved bad guy", Alan Blunt... And for the ones that feared about the theme of the story, they'll have a first insight on how the hell Scorpia has tricked the Argentinian High Command to start a war again in the Falklands... **

**Oh, and by the way, before I forget it... I know that the military aviation slang can be sometimes difficult to understand if you're not "in it"... If you want me to add a "dictionnary" of the slang words used in the story, just feel free to ask. But if you read Tom Clancy's novels, I know that this kind of "dictionnary" is provided at the end of some of his books (my favorite being "Red Storm Rising", guess why ?)**

**Well, time for the Disclaimer : I do not Own Alex Rider, it's property of Anthony Horrowitz (thanks to him for creating him). Only the OC and the plot are mine !**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4 : On the run again...<strong>

_Typhoon flight, 60 miles west of Cape Meredith._

"_Typhoon Two and Three, stay close to me, we go down._"

"_Two, Roger_"

"_Three, wilco, leader !_"

The three Typhoon then started to dive to the deck, leveling barely a hundred feet above the icy waters of the Southern Pacific Ocean, their radar locked on their target twenty miles in front of them.

"_Okay, Boys. Just a quick glance, then we'll head back to base. If it's the Argies, there's no need to confront them now. We must get back and report, OK ?_"

"_Two, Copy_"

"_Three !_"

The aircrafts were flying atop the waves. If they had wanted, they could have brushed them with their wings...

"_Leader, Two, bogey three o'clock, ten clicks, angels five !_"

"_Copy, two. I'll stick on the target. Three, you cover two and drive those bandits away._

_"Two_"

"_Three_"

Alex then pulled the stick, climbing as fast as he could, and turned to face his opponent. Soon enough he had a tone on his IR missiles.

"_Unidentified aircraft, this is Typhoon Patrol, you are in a restricted area. Please identify yourself._"

For all answer, they got locked on by the bogey's radars...

"_Holy F***, they're lightning us, Three. Break, Break !_"

They then separated, Alex turning to the West, his wingman to the East. Suddenly, his RWR blared again ! Typhoon Three saw the flash of the missile leaving the Super Etendard's wing and called him.

"_Look out, Two, Fox, Fox, Fox... Atoll inbound!_"

"_F*** Off ! Chaffs, Chaffs !_"

"_Damn... Two, I can't shake it... Holy crap, that was a close call this... F*** !_"

"_Three, you OK ?_"

"_As much as I can, Two, I lost one engine, and the second one isn't in top shape either..._ "

"_Ha ! Gotcha, sucker ! Fox Two !_", then called Alex, firing a Sidewinder at the leading SEM.

The Sidewinder left Alex's fighter and sped to the Argentinian leader, hitting him square in the tail.

"_Two, Splash one ! Pilot has bailed out !_"

"_Leader, status ?_"

"_Two, one bandit down, three to go. Three got hit !_"

"_Okay, Two, I'm closing in. Three, you ok ?_"

"_Apart this blasted stonebird who can't even fly better than a screwdriver, I'm pretty OK, Leader..._"

"_Try to hold on till the shore. It's best if you bail out over the ground than in those icy waters !_"

"_Aye, Sir. I'll try to hold on till Fox Bay, so I'll be able to come back to base on the liaison aircraft._"

"_Roger that, Three. Two, you go straight to base and put them on alert, and don't forget also to advise London of what's going on here !_"

"_Will do, Leader. Two, Out !_"

* * *

><p><em>Brazilian Aircraft carrier Sao Paulo's Tactical Room...<em>

"_Senhor Coronel, the patrol is calling, they faced three Typhoon. They damaged one of them, but Mayor Perales has been shot down..._"

"_Damn... OK, Commandante, prepare to launch the bombers and an escort of six fighters. We need to bring this base down_"

"_Si, Coronel_"

Colonel Esteban then went back to the bridge to see the Skyhawks being brought from the hangars onto the deck... He sensed then a presence behind him...

"_So, Colonel, it seems we've been detected..._ "

"Si_, Senhor Blunt. I ordered a preventive strike against their airbase. Soon we'll drive them out of those islands, and it'll be time to head to South Georgia. They won't have the guts to respond immediately, this will give us time to prepare for their reaction._"

"_Perfect... As soon as they'll send their fleet, I'll get my vengeance... They will pay for what they've done to me, as for what they did to you thirty years ago... Scorpia will then rise again !_ ", Alan answered with an evil grin...

* * *

><p><em>Mount Pleasant, ten minutes later. <em>

After a super cruise flight at mach one point five, Alex was finally back on the ground in Mount Pleasant, where he parked his aircraft right in front of the dispersal.

"_Fill her up, and charge her with full air to air ammo, the Argie's comin' _", he told the mechanics before rushing to the station commander, Wing Commander Mitchell.

He rushed in the dispersal like a mad man, nearly plowing into two of the VC-10 tanker crew. As he zoomed past them, he told them to get their bird under the hardened shelter and to go to the air raid shelter. Soon enough, he came right in front of Mitchell's office and entered without even knocking.

"_Sir_", he told him between pants, "_Our patrol has been attacked by Argentinian aircrafts eighty miles west of Cape Meredith. We presume Typhoon Four has been shot down earlier, and Typhoon three has been also hit, but he's trying to get back to Fox Bay, covered by Squadron Leader Merrill_."

"_You're kiddin' ?_"

"_No, sir. I shot down one of our attackers, but they are well aware that we know where they __are..._"

"_No... It can't be... Why would they risk to go to war with us... They've got too much to lose from it..._". The information was a shock to Mitchell. He first thought this to be a joke by some of the pilots, but as soon as he saw Alex's distraught face, he got it ! This was really happening...

"_Sir, we need to prepare for them... Please, give the order !_", Alex insisted, seeing the disbelief in Mitchell's eyes...

"_Okay, then. Let's get this base ready to welcome them. I'll get London aware of what's happening. As for yourself, just go sound the alarm and get ready to take off, I'm sure they'll soon be here !_"

"_Aye, Sir_", Alex answered, exiting the office in a rush, heading to Merrill's office. Once inside, he took the phone and called the ATC. "_Control, this is Flight Lieutenant McKittrick. I got orders from Wing Co Mitchell. Sound the alert and be ready for an enemy raid at any moment now. The Argie's comin'_."

_"Aye, Sir ! I just got news from Typhoon One. He's on his way back, Typhoon Three has crash landed in Fox Bay and is coming back on the liaison aircraft, escorted by Merrill._"

"_Perfect. As soon as they're here, put our remaining fighters on permanent alert, I'll be in my aircraft in five !_"

"_Aye, Sir_"

Alex then dialled MI-6 in London.

"_Tulip, Rider. We've got some development over here. The Argie's fleet is eighty miles west of Cape Meredith. Oh, by the way, we also found the Sao Paulo. He joined their fleet with his escort. They're within reach of our base and we're expecting an air raid any moment now..._ "

"_Blast it !_", answered Jones, quite in a shock about the news...

"_Yeah... That's my thought all right...", _answered Alex. "_We already engaged some of their fighters, and downed one of them for the loss of two of our aircrafts and a pilot missing. We have only two Typhoons left. We'll try to hold them off as long as we can, but we'll need perhaps to evacuate to Ascension._"

"_OK. I'll call them there, they've got KC-135 tankers and F-15's there. I'll ask them to provide you an escort and a tanker to refuel... If it was coming to the point where you would not be able to hold them off any longer, I give you the order to evacuate a maximum of the personnel from the base to Ascension. I know we've got two Airbus from BA in Stanley, so just send the families there to evacuate by those flights. As for the military personnel, I'll try to get you some of our Hercules from Ascension, but I think it'll be too late for that..._"

"_We already have two Hercules over here, and also there are our Sea Kings. We can evacuate part of our guys on ships bound for Grytviken..._"

"_OK. We've got two frigates in the vicinity, I'll give them order to get full speed to Stanley so that they may evacuate our personnel to Grytviken and from there to Ascension._"

"_Perfect. Now, I'll leave you, I got a fighter awaiting me outside, and..._"

At that moment, Alex was suddenly cut short by the alert horn blaring...

"_Damn It... They're comin', Tulip. I got to go..._"

"_OK, Alex. Good Luck, and Godspeed..._"

"_Thanks, Tulip. And may God help us all..._"

He then rushed out of the office, and as he arrived near his fighter he saw his CO helping the mechanics to load the last Aamram on his fighter...

"_Sir_", called Corporal Lance who was also rushing towards us, coming from the ATC room, "_We detected a formation of around twenty unidentified aircrafts at eighty miles, coming fast towards us at low altitude..._"

"_OK. We'll get them. Oh, Pat, please tell the pilots of the Hercules and the Tanker to take off and head towards Stanley. If it would come to an evacuation, we'd send our people there by road, and we'll evacuate them to Ascension from there. As for us, we'll stay here as long as we can._"

"_Aye, Sir_", answered Corporal Lance, rushing back to the Dispersal to give the orders.

"_Sir ? What about our strategy ?_", Alex called his CO.

"_Simple, we'll focus on the Skyhawks. Only attack the fighters if you can't avoid them. Our main goal is to avoid as much damage as we can to be made to our station and more important to the runways..._"

"_Aye Sir_."

"_Oh, and also John, fire only if you're sure to hit your target. We got four Aamrams and four Sidewinders each, plus our guns... We've got to make each of them count, OK ?_"

"_Perfectly clear, Sir !_"

He then climbed in his Typhoon as Merrill was heading towards his. As soon as he was strapped, he called his mechanic.

"_Frank, as soon as I'm off, call my wife and tell her to hide with my sister, her parents and Tommy's fiancee in our basement. And also call Thomas to tell him to get the Sea Kings in the air and to fly them to Stanley and wait there for our orders._"

"_Aye, Sir._", his mechanic answered him.

"_And, Frank, tell Sandy I love her and that I'll come back to her..._", Alex then whispered...

"_Don't worry, Sir, I'll tell her !_"

"_Thanks... OK, remove the ladder, we're goin' in !_"

As soon as Frank has removed the ladder, Alex lowered his canopy and started both engines. Two minutes later, he was climbing fast behind his leader, checking the enemy's position on his radar screen.

"_Two, Leader, stay on passive radar mode, we'll get around them and attack from high and behind. Fire the Aamrams on the Skyhawks, then we'll se if there are any left for our Sidewinders_ _!_"

"_Two, Copy_"

They soon reached twenty thousand feet, speeding at mach nine point five towards Darwin. Soon enough, they got around the enemy formation and started their dive on them...

"_Two, Lead, Here they are. Tally-Ho !_"

"_Two, I got a lock on the bandits... Fox Three ! Fox Three !_", Alex called, firing his Aamrams in a quick succession... Merril fired also and, soon, the missiles merged with the blips on their radar screen...

"_Yeah ! Leader, Two, Splashed three bandits !_"

"_Got three also, Two... Let's get closer to fire our Sidewinders..._"

"_Aye. Going supersonic now !_"

They pushed their throttle to full power, accelerating rapidly to mach one point three, a double "Bang" resounding above Mount Harriet. They closed rapidly on the Argentinian jets, but the surprise effect had blown off and the escort fighters were turning towards them.

"_Leader, bandits three o'clock low... Fighters... Gosh, Fox Fox Fox, Apex Inbound !_"

"_Two, Break ! Flares_", called Merrill...

"_Holy Sh**... That was close_", Alex whispered as he saw a missile zoom close past his aircraft. Then, as he saw one of the Super Etendard's crossing his flight path. "_That's your last mistake, boy... Guns Guns Guns..._", he then called, firing a three second burst of his guns as the Argentinian fighter was crossing his path... Sure enough his aim was perfect as his bullets just seemed to plow through the SEM's wing, and the enemy aircraft went tumbling down towards the ground... "_Come on, you moron, bail out !_", he then whispered and soon was sighing in relief as the Argie bailed out just on time, his aircraft crashing on the ground barely three seconds later...

"_Two, Lead, Status ?_"

"_Got one of the escort. I'm closing back on the Skyhawks..._"

"_OK, I see you, I'm coming to cover you !_"

"_Roger. I got a tone... Fox Two on the right one !_"

"_Lead, Got a tone too... Fox Two on the left one !_"

The two heat seeking missiles rushed towards the two Argentinian bombers and, soon enough, the two bombers were blown in smithereens, a rain of fire and debris falling to the ground near the north-eastern end of the base...

"_Lead, Two, another wave is coming... Damn, they tricked us... Look out, bandit in your tail_", called Alex

"_Damn... I can't shake him off..._", called Merrill. Alex coud hear the panic in his leader's voice...

"_Comin', Lead, hold on !_", he answered.

"_Damn, I'm hit, I'm hit ! Aircraft on fire, I'm bailin' out !_"

"_F*** _", screamed Alex as he saw his leader's aircraft exploding, but soon sighed in relief as he saw a parachute slowly falling down towards the ground... "_Mount Pleasant, Typhoon Two, Typhoon One has been shot down, we've got another wave of bombers comin' in and I'm out of ammo..._ "

"_Typhoon Two, get to Stanley. We're starting to evacuate. We'll need your fighter to escort the transports !_"

"_Aye, Mount Pleasant. I'm history. Typhoon Two, Out !_"

* * *

><p><strong>That's it. The end of Chapter 4... Hope you'll enjoy it.<strong>

**Fanfictionaddict1 :** Here comes the Evil Blunt... Hope you'll enjoy his part in the story.

**Albany :** I hope you now see how the story is developping and how I manage to insert a new "Falklands war" in the story without being anti-Argentina... You'll have more hints later on how Scorpia is manipulating the high command and the politics of both Argentina and Brazil in entering this war against the will of their own people... As I said, I'm not a warmonger... I believe in using arms only when diplomacy has totally and utterly failed or when we have the moral duty to protect civilians from evil dictators.

**Next chapter will be chapter 5 : The last stand ! More air combats, the evacuation of Mount Pleasant's RAF personnel and families, and also another Alex & Sabina part... (hmmm)  
><strong>

**Also, please, pretty please, leave me reviews so that I can know what you're thinking of the story. It's what drive me to write more and also (often may I say) give me inspiration.**

**See you soon,**

**E.J. Alderson.  
><strong>


	6. Chapter 5 : The last stand !

**Author Notes : **

**First, Thanks for your review, Albany. It went right to the heart, and that's pushing me to make the story even better and to involve even more scenes from the Argentinian side's point of view (sometimes in the air, sometimes on sea... and about Blunt, you'll see he's got a part in this chapter again...)**

**Also, I'd like to say I'm sorry it took so long before I came on with this new chapter, and I'd also like to advise you it'll take perhaps a bit longer to see the next one coming through, as I was told at work I'd have a special 3-week assignment that will be quite exhausting (around 10-hours shifts, lots of responsibilities... ) so please try to be patient. I'll first update my other story "Odyssey Dawn" as I'd have to get that one finished before I'll be able to write chapter 7... some characters from OD will appear in Excalibur and to understand their interactions with Alex you'll have to have read Odyssey Dawn, at least the last chapters.**

**Now, time for the Disclaimer : I do not Own Alex Rider, it's property of Anthony Horrowitz (thanks for creating him, Anthony). Only the OC and the plot are mine, of course !**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5 : The last stand<strong>

As soon as he had landed in Port Stanley, Alex joined Tom and they went both to the Air Traffic Control.

"_Flight Lieutenant McKittrick reporting, Sir !", he said, coming at attention in front of the senior ATC, "Mount Pleasant has been attacked, we lost three of our four Typhoons in the battle_"

"_Damn It_", answered Sergeant Matthews, "_seems that it was quite hard. I tried to call them but never got any answer..._ "

"_OK I'll get my fighter refuelled and will go get a look there. Still have some missiles here ?_"

"_Only AIM-9's, sorry..._"

"_Well, that'll do. Load as much of them as my bird can carry, and also tell the ground crews to get the choppers and Hercules ready, we're going there to evacuate as many as we can. Meanwhile, get all the civilian aircrafts you've got here ready to evacuate tourists and the RAF crews to Ascension. I know London will send a fleet down there, and they'll need us !_"

"_Aye, Sir._ "

"_Perfect. Tommy_", Alex then said, turning to his friend, "_I'll go first. As soon as I give you the green light, you come to the base and we'll start to evacuate as many as we can. First the key personnel, then the civilians. If the runways are still intact, I'll call the Herkies back to help to the evacuation._"

"_Right-O, Al. I'm on my way_", he answered, already turning to the door."

"_Thanks, mate. Oh, and by the way, Tom, if something was to happen to me, please take care of Sabs and Jack for me, ok ?_"

"_Won't happen... You're too stubborn to go down, pal !_"

"_Ain't so sure, ya know... All right, Shoo now, we've got a mission awaiting..._"

Ten minutes later, they were airborne, Alex's Typhoon speeding towards his base, hoping that the station would still be operational. Soon enough, he arrived at destination and what he saw nearly got him to scream in anger... The runways were littered with bomb craters, all hangars had been brought down, and the tower was still ablaze... But, looking closely, he saw that the main taxiways were still intact... "

"_Rescue One, Typhoon One, the taxiways are still intact, but runways are totally out of order. Get your butt here and on the double, I think we won't get as much people to rescue as I thought, alas..._"

"_OK, Typhoon One, closing in !_"

"_Stanley, Typhoon One_", then called Alex, "_Runways out, but taxiways are still operable. Could the Hercules land on them ?_"

"_Typhoon One, this is Stanley, we're getting Hercules One on your frequency, hold on._"

"_Roger that._"

"_Typhoon One, Hercules One. What's the situation ?_"

"_Typhoon One, the runways are totally out of service, but the main taxiway is still intact._"

"_Perfect, Typhoon One. We'll land there. Could you tell me if the north end of the main runway is still intact ?_"

"_Aye, Hercules One. Still intact._"

"_OK. We'll land from south to north, and park there._"

"_Copy, Hercules One. I'm going down for a last test of the taxiway. Typhoon One, Out !_"

Alex then got down to five hundred feet and flew right above the base, checking the taxiways a last time. That's when he saw people rushing out of the air raid shelters and waving to him... He recognized his leader and the station commander...

"_Stanley, Typhoon One, I see survivors on the ground, Squadron Leader Merril and the Group Captain are OK. I'm going down._"

"_OK, Typhoon One, We've got two Airbus A-340 and a 737 ready to evacuate military personnel and civilians. We also have two destroyers and the HMS Endurance coming to help from Grytviken to take as many civilian and military personnel back to Ascension._"

"_OK. I'm staying above the station in case the Argies throw another raid against us._"

"_Roger that._"

It took around twenty minutes and some serious "roller-coaster" ride for the C-130 to land on the taxiway. As soon as they had landed, I followed them, stopping near the last runway exit and turning my fighter to be ready to scramble at any second. As soon as I got out of my aircraft, I was surrounded by members of our ground personnel, totally shocked by the sudden Argentinian attack.

"_Damn, Sir_", asked one of the Mess Hall's cook, "_What's happenin' here ? Why the hell are we attacked ?_"

"_It's '82 all over again, boys. We'll evacuate you to Stanley with your families and from there you'll board civilian aircrafts to Ascension, seeing this station is no longer operable. I know they'll send us a fleet from home and, with God's help, we'll stop them before it's too late !_"

"_A fleet ? We don't have any carrier anymore, what can we do with ships against their air power !_"

"_Well, we've just purchased an US carrier, the Kitty Hawk, and the Invincible is being refurbished as we speak. We'll win in the end, just wait and see..._"

At that moment, he saw his CO and Jerry, the pilot of Typhoon three, coming towards him. He took his leave from the others and walked towards them.

"_Sir, you OK ? And you, Jerry ?_"

"_I'm fine, McKittrick_", answered Merril, "_Jerry here has just a sprained ankle. What about you ?_"

"_I left my fighter at the end of the Taxiway, ready to scramble if they come again... Do you know if there are still AIM-120's here ?_"

"_Those bloody A-4's have done a damn good job smashing the station down. I can't think there are any missile left on the station, they destroyed all our hangars... Even the Mess has been hit._"

"_Damn... And what about our families ?_"

"_They were in the bunkers. They're boarding the Hercules as we speak. Your wife and family are OK, don't worry. They're on the first C-130 to take off._"

"_Thanks. Any car available ? I have to get some documents and my computer back from home, there are documents the Argies can absolutely not find..._"

"_We got a Jeep over there, near the bunker. Take her, I'll take your place to fly the Typhoon if there is any alert._"

"_Thanks, Sir !_"

It took Alex only twenty minutes to ride to his home, gather back his computer and some important papers, as well as a few of Smither's gadgets. As he came to the station, he saw the first C-130 had already took off and the second one was starting his engines...

"_I got everything, Sir. I'll fly with my bird to escort you. You take this and you keep it safe for me, OK ?_"

"_No problem, McKittrick._"

"_OK. My wife and family ?_"

"_Airborne with Hercules one, already half way to Stanley._"

"_Perfect. And Jerry ?_"

"_He just boarded Hercules Two, and..._"

They were cut off by the sound of jet engines from afar...

"_Damn, they're back. Quick, get that fat lady airborne, I'll hold them off._"

"_Okay. Good luck, McKitrick, and Godspeed !_"

Alex then rushed to his fighter and climbed in the cockpit, not even waiting for his mechanic to help him. He immediately closed the canopy and started his engines, all the while strapping himself in his seat. He finally put his helmet on, connected the radio and oxygen, and started to roll to the taxiway, not bothering about speed regulation, and immediately pushed the throttle to full power as soon as he was aligned on the Taxiway, his Typhoon rushing like a greyhound as the C-130 was starting to roll there too. As soon as he was airborne, he got the gear up and climbed as fast as he could to twenty thousand feet, calling the Hercules.

"_Hercules Two, Typhoon One, as soon as you're airborne, stay low and head immediately to Stanley. I'll drive them away from you and meet you back in Stanley. Oh, by the way, tell them to get Sidewinders and fuel ready for me as soon as you're there, OK ?_"

"_Hercules Two, Copy that, Typhoon One. Good luck !_"

"_Well, seems I'll need it_", Alex sighed back, watching four spots on his radar closing rapidly on him... "_I got four bandits ten clicks south. I'm engaging..._"

He then armed his Sidewinders and soon got a tone...

"_Stanley, Typhoon One, I have a visual on the four bandits, seems to be SEM from the Sao Paulo. I'll try to drive them away._"

"_Copy, Typhoon One. Hercules One is already in approach. We'll keep a tanker ready till the last minute for you. Godspeed, Sir !_"

"_Thanks, Stanley. Typhoon One, Out !_"

As soon as he came in range, he fired two of his Aim-9's on the Leader of the Argies and immediately dove to the deck, firing a mix of chaffs and flares. He saw a flash of light in his mirror, apparently his missile had foud his target. He then got to the deck and started to fly North to San Carlos, flying low between the hills, and as soon as he saw that the Etendards were out of range, he slowed a bit and turned back to the South-east, heading back to Stanley.

* * *

><p><em>Aircraft Carrier Sao Paulo's Bridge.<em>

Colonel Esteban was sitting on the bridge, watching the preparation of the A-4's for the second attack, this time against Port Stanley. He had sent a patrol of 4 Super-Etendard to check if Mount Pleasant Station was still operational, and was waiting their report. The phone near him rang, breaking his musings, and he answered

"_Bridge, Coronel Esteban_"

"_Senhor Coronel, The recon patrol is under attack, a lone fighter apparently..._"

"_Tell then to intercept it, Teniente ! Any fighter they still have can be a danger for our invasion force._"

"_Si, Coronel._"

"_Problems, Colonel ?_", asked Blunt who just entered the bridge.

"_Apparently, they still have fighters. Our patrol is under attack..._"

"_Well, I know for sure they only have four Typhoons, and as we downed two of them for sure, and your raid on Mount Pleasant seemed successful, I can only think of one option ; they've fallen back to Stanley !_"

"_That's why I'm getting a second raid ready to struck this base too._"

"_Well, I know well how they work, I used to work for them... They won't hold on any longer. As soon as we've got their air power destroyed, they'll be sitting ducks !_"

"_I hope so..._", started Esteban as the phone rung again.

"_Senhor Coronel, it seems one of our fighter has been shot down. They were facing a lone fighter, and apparently he was able to flee low to the north..._", he heard as soon as he picked the phone up.

"_Que coño es... Joder !_", swore Colonel Esteban, "_He surely tried to lure us away from Stanley. Teniente, tell them to head for Stanley and report what's happening there..._"

"_Si, Coronel._"

"_Well, seems that they are more difficult to bring down that what we thought... If I didn't knew for sure that he's dead, I'd tell that this was the kind of trick Alex Rider would have pulled..._", told him Blunt as soon as he hung down the phone.

"_Who's this Rider ?_", asked Esteban

"_One of my former agents, the youngest and most successful spy we ever had... He nearly destroyed Scorpia once... Alas he turned his back on me and when I tried to persuade him to get back, his damned girlfriend got everything public. That got me in Jail and him out of business. I so much wanted to get even with him, but one of Scorpia's agents planted a bomb on his aircraft as he was flying his family in vacation to Germany. They all died, even the agent was killed when MI-6 tried to capture him._", answered Blunt, his hands grasping hard the arm of Esteban's chair.

"_Well, if he's dead, he can't really be a threat to us, isn't it ? All we have to do now is wait. And be assured, Senhor Blunt, that you'll have your revenge on your former employer..._"

* * *

><p><strong><span>Glossary :<span>**

**AIM-9, or Sidewinder** : _air to air short range heat seeking missile_

**AIM-120, or Aamram** : _air to air medium range radar guided missile_

**Clicks** : _unit of distance. One click is a mile, so "bandits ten clicks" means "enemy aircraft ten miles from us"_

**Grytviken** : _Capital of South Georgia Island._

**Spanish words :**

**Teniente** : Lieutenant

**Coronel** : Colonel

**Que coño es...** : What the...

**Joder** : F***

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that's it for chapter 5. Next chapter will be about the final steps of the evacuation from Stanley, and we'll see there how Scorpia's agents had infiltrated the High Command, as Blunt will be the Argentinian's governor's eminence grise... That will be in the next chapter :<em> Search and Rescue<em>**


	7. Chapter 6 : Ballad of Hawks and Eagles

**A.N. : Here comes finally chapter 6. Sorry for the delay, but I wanted to finish my other story "Odyssey Dawn" before coming back to Codename Excalibur, as the end of that story shows you how Tom, Alex and Squadron Leader Alexander have met. **

**In this chapter, Blunt has a near-cardiac arrest and Alex shows his true valour as a fighter pilot... If you don't understand spanish, don't worry. I'll have the translations in the end notes... **

**Thanks again for your review, Albany. If there is any problem with my spanish, just feel free to let me know of it, and I'll correct immediately.**

**Well, time for the Disclaimer. I do not Own Alex Rider nor Blunt, Sab or Tom, they're Anthony Horrowitz's. The other OC's and the plot, however, are mine...  
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><p><strong>Chapter 6 : Ballad of Hawks and Eagles<strong>

When Alex landed back in Stanley, the evacuation was already in full swing. The two Airbus had already left with most of the families of the RAF Personnel and a few key persons from the Station. The rest would board the Boeing, the soldiers and other personnel boarding the C-130's fleet. As he rolled closer to the 757, he saw Sab and Jack standing there, looking towards his fighter. As soon as he had cut the engines and got out of his Typhoon, they rushed towards him, Sab nearly knocking him down when she launched herself in his arms…

"_God, Al, I've been so scared… What's goin' on ? Is it Scorpia again ?_"

"_Partly, Love. That's the Argies who are comin' again like back in '82… but don't worry, we'll get you out of here and we'll prepare ourselves in Ascension to strike them back hard !_"

"_Please, Promise me you'll be careful, OK ? I don't want to loose you now…_"

"_I promise, Love, I'll always get back to you, no matter what !_"

At that moment, the air raid horn sounded on the station, and the personnel got in a frenzy to load the last Sidewinders and finish to refuel his fighter…

"_Bollocks ! Sab, Jack, get in that 757, I'll cover your evacuation and then I'll join you back in Ascension ! Love you, Sweetheart !_", he then told her.

"_OK… Love you, Al !_", Sab answered. They kissed one last time, and she followed Jack to the liner as he rushed back to his fighter where he was joined by his CO.

"_I'll go, McKittrick. Get in that bloody aircraft with your wife !_", said Squadron Leader Merril.

"_Negative, Sir. It's my job, and I'll do it ! They'll need you in Wideawake to brief the guys about the situation, so I'll cover you !_"

"_Damn It, I order you…_"

"_No, and that's definitive, Sir. You can get me court-marshalled later if you want, but for now get your sorry arse in that Hercules and get the Hell out of here !_"

Alex left his CO standing there, flabbergasted, and jumped in his Typhoon, quickly starting the engines, not even waiting for the canopy to be totally closed to roll to the runway.

"_Stanley, Typhoon One, request Take-Off clearance !_"

"_Typhoon One, Scramble, bandits sixty miles west and closing fast !_"

"_Copy, Stanley_", Alex answered, pushing the throttle to full military power, "_Typhoon One taking off !_"

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><p><em>Sao Paulo aircraft Carrier, OPS Room.<em>

Colonel Esteban was once again in the OPS room, following the progress of the strike force flying to Stanley. Suddenly, a call came from the leader of the escort.

"_Sao Paulo, Aguila Lider, I have multiple contacts over the target, two big ones, transport aircraft it seems, flying eastbound ; three or four smaller ones, apparently helicopters, flying to the bay ; and a last one flying fast towards us, apparently a lone fighter. Request instructions !_"

"_Well_", told Blunt to Esteban, "_It seems you've found that lone fighter back…_"

"_Si, it seems so… Teniente_", Esteban then turned to the communication officer, "_order our fighters to intercept that fighter. The other aircrafts and helicopters are not to be shot at, they're certainly evacuating civilians to ships or to Ascension Island._"

"_Si, Coronel !_"

"_Well, I'd be you, I'd shoot those down too, you know…_"

"_And end up having all the international press and the UN breathing down our necks ? __Eres tan estupide como un perro !_"

"_Huh ?_"

"_Oh, Nothing…_", Esteban answered, glad for once that Blunt wasn't fluent in Spanish…

"_Well… I'ts still better than having them striking back, isn't it ?_ "

"_No ! Sorry, Senhor Blunt, but I won't give that order !_", Esteban retorted, getting quite angry with Blunt now.

"_As you wish, Colonel_", Blunt answered, clearly unhappy with the Argentinian officer's choice.

"_Teniente, Tell our fighters to strike military targets only. The transports and helicopters, as the ships in the bay, are to be left unharmed, they're apparently evacuating civilians._"

"_Si, Coronel !_"

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><p><em>Somewhere above Stanley Airfield…<em>

Alex was already airborne, and he was climbing fast to twenty thousand feet, circling around Stanley airfield. He saw the Boeing and the last C-130 taking-off and climbing slowly en-route to Georgetown, Ascension Island. He then received a call from Stanley.

"_Typhoon One, Stanley, we're signin' off. Evacuating on the HMS Protector with your last Sea-King. Protector will take over from here, switch on frequency 135.25"_

"_Roger that, Stanley, I'm covering you as long as I can then I'll set course to Ascension and join the last Hercules for the refuelling pattern._"

"_Copy that, Typhoon One. Good luck and Godspeed, chap. Stanley signing out !_"

"_Thanks, Stanley, Typhoon One, Out ! _"

Alex then got between the airfield and the Protector to cover them and started to fly a CAP pattern between that position and Fitzroy. Soon enough, he got a contact on his radar, around thirty jets coming towards them, yet still at around fifty miles from Fitzroy. He called the Protector to signal them the threat.

"_Protector, Typhoon One, I'm above Fitzroy and have contact with twenty five plus bandits, fifty miles east, closing fast towards Stanley. I'll slow them a bit, so you can get the Hell out of there !_"

"_Copy, Typhoon One. We'll sail flank speed to the east. The Sea-King has just landed, and we'll get him in readiness would the need arise._"

"_Thanks, Protector, Bandits now 40 miles from Fitzroy, still closing fast. Stay on frequency…_"

"_Roger that, we're with you, lad !_"

He then selected the sidewinder missiles and got ready to fight hard for his life. A minute later, the first elements were around fifteen miles in front of him. He fired two of his sidewinders and then got his fighter into a flurry of evasive manoeuvres. He got somewhat lucky as one of the Argies, while they broke formation, just launched himself in front of the first of his two missiles…

"_Typhoon One, Two Fox Two… Yeah, Splash one ! Damn, those are Super-Etendards_", he called and, coming closer to them, "_F*** Off… Look Out, Protector, they got Exocet missiles under their wings…_"

"_Blast It ! Kill those bastards, they're far more a threat than the Skyhawks…_"

"_Wilco, Protector… Here we go… Got the tune… Fox Two ! Yeah, another one down_", he yelled, a second SEM bursting into a ball of fire and debris after his missile struck him right in the exhaust pipe. "_The two remaining ones are trying to evade… Oh no, you bastard, you won't get out that easy… Switching for guns…_" He then fired a two second burst of my Mauser 23 mm gun… "_Yeah, Guns kill… I got that one. Only one of 'em remaining_"

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><p><em>4-element SEM's leader cockpit…<em>

"_Maldito sea ! Sao Paulo, Aguila four has been shot down ! Mierda, Here he's comin' back… !_ "

"_Aguila Lider, Sao Paulo, come in !_"

"_Aguila Tres, Aguila lider and Aguila quatro has been shot down… __Wait… Que coño es… Tonta !_ "

"_Aguila Tres, come in… Aguila Tres ? Ah Cabron !_", then cussed the young officer, turning to Colonel Esteban, "_Senhor Coronel, we've lost contact with Aguila squadron… Their last transmission said they were engaged by a lone fighter. I had confirmation that Aguila Lider and Quatro had been shot down, then nothing more…_ "

"_Joder ! Send word to Buitre squadron to intercept that pendejo… He's alone, he should be an easy prey for them, that boluto_"

"_Si, Coronel !_"

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><p><em>Typhoon One, twenty thousand feet above Stanley…<em>

"_Protector, Typhoon One, got three bandits down, one damaged and fleeing. I'm back to Stanley now…_"

"_Roger, Typhoon One. Good show, pal ! We got contact on another 4-aircraft formation heading towards you, they're over Lively Island as for now._"

"_Copy, Protector, intercepting the bandits ! I still have four missiles and half my ammo left, what's your position, over ?_"

"_Twenty miles east of Volunteer point, Over ! _"

"_Copy that. Bandits now twenty miles, I'm engaging them ! _"

"_Good luck, Typhoon One. Protector, Out !_ "

Alex, as the first time, came head on on them, and as soon as he was in range, he fired two of his remaining sidewinders on the bandits.

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><p><em>Buitre squadron, ten miles north-east of Lively Island…<em>

"_Buitre Lider to Buitre squadron, stay close, boys. The guy we're facing is no boluto, he's downed Aguila squadron all by himself, ok ?_"

"_Buitre duo, si !_ "

"_Buitre three, copio !_ "

"_Buitre quatro, si mi capitan !_ "

"_Eso esta bien… Here they come… __Que Demonios… __Maldito Sea ! Break, break, he's fired missiles on us !_ "

That was the last call Buitre Lider would ever make. His Super-Etendard was struck by the two missiles in a second's span and his fighter turned in a huge fireball, debris hitting Buitre two, damaging his left wing and sending him in a stall.

"_Que Chingados ! Tonta ! __Sao Paulo, Buitre Lider has been shot down, my aircraft's damaged ! Buitre tres and quatro engaging the bandit !_ "

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><p><em>Aboard Sao Paulo, OPS Room.<em>

"_Ay. Dios. Mio !_ ", uttered Colonel Esteban as he heard that transmission from Buitre Two.

"_Exactly my thoughts_", answered Blunt. "_That bloody pilot's the Devil himself_ ! "

"_Coronel, I've found the ennemy's frequency… I'm putting it on the speakers !_ "

"Muy b_ien, let's hear it !_ ", answered Esteban.

After a few second, they heard clear and loud Typhoon one calling HMS Protector…

"_Protector, Typhoon One, I got two more of 'em… I'm getting out of here now, meet you back in Georgetown ! Out ! _"

Hearing this voice, Blunt became as white as a sheet…

" _Motherf***** ! Truly this is the Devil himself ! That pilot's voice… I know him, that's Rider !_ "

"_What ?_", answered Esteban, "_That agent you told me about earlier ? Wasn't he dead ?_"

"_Yes ! But it can't be someone else, I'd recognize his voice anytime… Shot that Bastard down !_ "

"_Estas pendejo o qué chingando ?_", called Esteban back, "_He has shot down five of our aircrafts, and those were not young recruits, they were all seasoned pilots… No, I'm calling back our fighters, there's no use in losing more of them, we'll need them later !_"

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><p><em>Typhoon One, 40 miles north-east of Stanley…<em>

After disengaging himself as the remaining Argentinian fighters fled to their carrier, Alex was finally flying back to join the Herkie. Ten minutes later, he was jolted out of his thoughts as the low fuel alarm came on on his instrument panel…

"_What the… Blast, I must have been hit by one of those bastards back there", _he thought,_ "I'm loosing fuel fast…_"

He quickly checked his fuel tanks gauges, not liking at all what he saw…

"_Protector, Typhoon One, I've been apparently hit by enemy fire and am loosing fuel fast. I won't be able to make it to Ascension. I'll try to join your position and then bail out, over !_ "

"_Copy that, Typhoon One. Our position is 40 miles east of McBride Heath, about 20 miles behind you. We're coming full speed on your heading, Rescue Two is ready to get you back. Over !_ "

"_Copy. I'm still at level twenty, but only have seconds of fuel left, I'm already running on fumes… I'll try to glide as close as I can to your position ! _"

"_Copy that, Typhoon One. Already heading towards you at flank speed. Protector, Out ! _"

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><p><strong>A.N. : And that's it, the end of Chapter 6. Hope you've enjoyed it. Just please leave me some reviews to let me know of it, Ok ? <strong>

**In the next chapter, you'll see Alex being rescued by Tom's chopper and how they will get to Wideawake field on Ascension Island to prepare themselves to strike back. That'll be in Chapter 7 : Welcome to Wideawake Field !**

**Translations from Spanish :**

**Aguila** **= Eagle**

**Buitre** = **Vulture** (_he he... Vulture Squadron, does it remind you of someone ? Yep, Muttley and Dick Dastardly..._ Guess who's goin' to be DD ?)

**Lider = Leader**

**Eres tan estupido como un perro !** = **You're as stupid as a dog !  
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**Maldito Sea ! = May he be damned !**

**Mierda ! = Sh****

**Joder ! = F*****

**Tonta ! = Bullocks**

**Que coño es eso ! = What the Hell is that ?**

**Ah Cabron ! = Blast It, Goddamnit !**

**Pendejo = Moron !**

**Boluto = Idiot**

**Eso esta bien… = That's all right, Good**

**Que Demonios… = What the Hell... **

**Que Chingados ! Tonta ! = What the F*** ! Bullocks !**

**Estas pendejo o qué chingando ? = Are you idiot or what ? (Are you a dumbass or what's happening in your frikkin' head ?)**_  
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	8. Chapter 7 : Welcome to RAF Wideawake

**A.N. :**

**First, thanks again to Albany. Your reviews really goes right to the heart, and fuels me to write more. But you're a bit mistaken, as Blunt won't be governor of the Islas, but only the assistand of the Argentinian governor (that's what is called in french "Une Eminence Grise", in reference to Cardinal Mazarin & Cardinal de Richelieu...)**

**This chapter is somewhat a "filler". It will serve to link the first part of the story (the invasion of the Falklands) to the second part (the formation of the two fleets that will strike back in Ascension and also the training of Alex on the new carrier-based version of the Typhoon and on carrier-based operations from the new HMS Independance (ex-USS Kitty-Hawk). **

**So, enough chit-chat, time for the Disclaimer : I do not Own Alex Rider, it's property of Anthony Horrowitz (thanks for creating him, Anthony). Only the OC and the plot are mine, of course !**

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><p><strong>Chapter 7 : Welcome to RAF Wideawake<strong>

_HMS Protector, cockpit of Rescue 02_

"_Damn, Tommy, what are they waitin' for ? Are we goin'ta take-off or what ?_"

"_Keep calm, Frank. We've got a lone fighter comin' down out of fuel, and even more he's apparently crippled… Our job's to get him out of the water, but there's no use in flyin' circles around the ship wasting fuel, isn't it ?_"

"_If you say so…_", Frank answered from the back of the chopper.

They were in readiness for the last half hour, and the crew was getting somewhat restless… That's when Tom got a radio call from the Protector.

"_Rescue Two, Protector, Typhoon one is on his way back, but we think he won't make it to the ship. Get airborne, you'll get a heading as soon as you're in the air._"

"_Wilco, Protector, Rescue Two taking-off_", Tom answered before switching again on the Intercom. "_We got the Scramble, guys. Get ready !_"

And as Alex's Typhoon was slowly and silently gliding down towards the HMS Protector, the Sea-King took off and soon sped up to meet him.

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><p><em>NAe Sao Paulo, OPS Room.<em>

"_Senhor Colonel, our fighters are on our way back. They confirm that both Mount Pleasant and Stanley airfields are out of order._", called the young radio officer.

"_Well, it seems we're finally having the air superiority here_", then said Blunt to Esteban…

"_Perfect, Teniente_", answered Colonel Esteban. "_Call the Captain and tell him to signal the fleet that we're ready for the landing operations_", then, turning back again to Blunt, "_I guess you'll want to join the last waves getting ashore, Senhor Blunt ?_"

"_If you would be kind enough to let me_", answered Blunt, "_I'd like to join the first wave and fight with them. I know Stanley well and can easily get your troops to the governor's office unseen._"

"_As you wish. Oh, By the way_", added then Esteban, "_I got a call from High Command. You're to take the position of adviser to the new governor of the Islas, Teniente General Bonzo. He's the son of Hector Bonzo, the Belgrano's last captain…_"

"_Perfect. I'll then take my leave to join your troops._"

"_I'll get you an helicopter to drop you on our transport ship. Good luck, Senhor Blunt._"

"_Thanks, Colonel, but I really hope I won't need it._"

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><p><em>Typhoon One, 30 miles east of HMS Protector.<em>

"_Rescue Two, Typhoon One, I'm at level five, can't wait any longer… I'll have to bail out. Now !_"

"_Roger that, Typhoon One, we're about ten miles south west of your position. Hang on, we're comin' fast, pal !_"

"_Copy, Rescue Two. Bailin'out now ! Typhoon One, Out !_"

Alex then performed his evacuation preparation and yanked the ejection lever. The canopy was immediately blown up from the fighter, and one second later the rocket engine extracted the seat from his dying fighter. As his parachute finally opened and he slowly started to drift down towards the south Atlantic waves down below, he saw his aircraft hit the water in a huge splash and then disappear in a second's time without even leaving any evidence of the crash.

Two minutes later, he was only fifty foot above the water. He then got in position and, as soon as he felt his feet hit the waves, he hit the buckle of his harness, releasing the parachute and dropping in the icy waters. As he emerged, he swiftly started to swim towards the dinghy floating only a hundred yards away. As he finally got in, he grabbed the emergency radio set and called on the distress frequency.

"_Rescue Two, this is Typhoon One, I'm in the water. Do you read me ?_"

"_I read you loud and clear, Typhoon One. We're two minutes from your position now, hang on !_"

"_Copy that, Rescue Two. I can hear your helicopter afar…_"

"_Roger… I got you on visual. Get ready to be winched up !_"

Thirty seconds later, the winch was lowered and Alex swam swiftly towards it, hauling the dinghy in tow. Soon enough, he was in the Sea-King's rear compartment sipping hot tea, wrapped in warm woollen blankets. One of the crewmen gave him a helmet and as soon he had put it on, he heard Tom's voice calling the crew on the Intercom.

"_Hey, Mike, how's our castaway ?_"

"_He's fine, Tommy, Thanks_", Alex answered for the crew member, not resisting teasing his friend, "_Well, as far now I'd say, knowing your flying style to be somewhat rough on the edges…_"

"_Hey, you're the one to be rough flying over here, Tiffie-boy ! The way you destroy planes, you're sure to finish this war as an infantryman…_"

"_Well, I may have lost my bird to the Argies, but at last did I took five of those bastards with me, laddie !_"

"_Wow… Five… That's some feat indeed… By the way, doesn't it make an Ace out of you ?_ "

"_Indeed… But we'll talk about that when we'll be safe in Wideawake._"

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><p><em>NAe Sao Paulo's Bridge, five miles off Barren Island…<em>

Colonel Esteban, finally free of the constant inspection of Scorpia's Agent (Blunt), was still somewhat unhappy with the way the events were unfolding themselves. But even if he wasn't agreeing with the way his country's leaders were ruling, and more even about how they launched Argentina in what could easily become a costly remake of 1982's events, he was first and foremost a soldier, and his duty was perfectly clear to him : follow orders, no matter what !

"_Senhor Capitan_", he called to the carrier's skipper, "_all our aircraft are back on deck. We're clear to proceed on our previous course._"

"_Perfect, Colonel._", answered Captain Lopez. "_Teniente_", he then called the navigator, "_turn left, heading zero seven zero, speed twenty knots !_"

"_Às suas ordens, senhor Capitão !_", answered the young lieutenant.

The heavy carrier then turned slowly to the left, pursuing on its way between Bull Point and the Sea Lion Islands, setting sail to Port Fitzroy where he'd be able to protect the landings operations of the two divisions sent to secure the Islands.

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><p><em>HMS Protector, en route to Georgetown, one hour later...<em>

After his rescue, Alex was welcomed aboard the protector with a nice mug of Irish Coffee and warm clothes. As soon as he had settled in his temporary quarters, he left for the radio room from where he called his CO and let him know he was OK. His second call, of course, was for his wife. Sabina had just landed in Wideawake, worried as hell as she didn't spot his Typhoon fighter, when her cell phone rung...

"_Hullo, Sally McKittrick._"

"_Hey, Hun, it's me... Sorry I'll be late, but I had some trouble on the way._"

"_Well_", she then answered him, relief apparent in her voice, "_you were always prone to attract troubles... I can see that it hasn't changed a bit !_"

"_Yeah... Well, I'm aboard the Protector with Tom. We'll arrive in about nine days in Georgetown._"

"_Nine days ? That's awfully long... No way you can get faster here ?_"

"_I'm sorry, but I don't see another way, unless they'd send me a Harrier..._"

"_OK... Oh, by the way, is Tom anywhere near you ?_"

"_No, he's with the Captain now, debriefing my rescue. Why ?_"

"_Well, Sandy here is a bit worried about him..._"

"_Tell her not to worry, Love. He's fine. I'll tell him to call her as soon as he's out of debriefing._"

"_OK. And what about you ? Are you OK ?_"

"_I'm fine, really, Love. Just a little cold bath, but fortunately Tom was near with his Sea-King so I had not even the time to settle in my dinghy... And what about you ? Are you OK ?_"

"_Yes, I'm fine, thanks honey. They told me I had a hut awaiting us... They got also one for Jack, one for my parents and a last one for Tom and Sandy._"

"_Perfect. I'm glad you're all OK. It was somewhat a tad harsh over there earlier, with all those Argies coming for us... I'm glad I was able to protect your evacuation._"

"_Well, not everyone was able to evacuate... I heard that the governor, Lord Camden, stayed with a platoon of the Royal Marines to help evacuating most of the Kelpers of Stanley, but were unable to reach either Fox Bay or Port Howard..._"

"_Hun, this is no secure line. It's best if we don't discuss strategic matters this way... Still, could you do something for me ?_"

"_Of course, Love !_"

"_I'm pretty sure that Jim Alexander will arrive soon in Wideawake with his squadron, they're the best one in the Air Force, and I'm pretty sure the Heads-ups in London will send them first thing to drive the invaders away. Could you tell him I'm sorry not to be able to welcome him in person as I've foreseen it but that I'll be there as fast as I'm able ?_"

"_Don't worry, sweetheart. I'll handle that. Oh, by the way, Jack says Hello, and also that she's waiting your return for a surprise..._"

"_Well, knowing Jack, I really hope she won't blow up another oven... Could you keep an eye on her for me ?_", Alex answered after laughing his head off at the idea of Jack with her hair messed and soot smeared all over her face. Apparently, Sabina's had the same image in mind as she also laughed her head out on the other side of the line...

"_Don't worry_", she answered after her laugh subsided, "_I'll keep her at bay !_"

"_Fine. I miss you awfully, you know ?_"

"_Yea... Me too, Honey !_"

"_Well, I have to go, they need the COM. Be careful, OK ?_"

"_I will. Love you, Al !_"

"_Love you too, Sab !_"

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><p><em>Wideawake Field, nine days later...<em>

Sabina, Jack, Sandy and Sabina's parents were waiting on the parking area of RAF Wideawake. HMS Protector was about sixty miles south-west of Georgetown and Alex had boarded Tom's Sea-King's, heading towards his new temporary home. For this flight, however, he had joined Tom in the cockpit and, as they approached the station, he saw the crowd gathered there...

"_Well, Al, seems that we'll have another go at a bone-crushing hug from our dear wives, won't we ?_", Tom told his friend, a smirk playing on his lips...

"_Well, speak for yourself, laddie. I think I'll have more likely a go at a butt-knocking launch from Sabina..._"

"_Well, we won't have to wait long... We're cleared to land..._", then said Tom, starting the landing procedures.

As soon as the Sea-King was on the ground, blades stopped, the crew got out to join their families. The last two ones to get out were Tom and Alex, who were tackled by their wives. As soon as they had recovered, in Alex's case, got up from the ground where he was knocked down on his butt by Sabina's hug, he gathered his loved one in his arms, and as they pulled away after a long awaited kiss, Sabina was the first to speak...

"_Welcome to Wideawake RAF Station, my love !_"

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><p><strong>A.N. : <strong>

**That's it. End of Chapter 7. In the next chapter, we'll meet again James and Richard Alexander, Leaders of Squadrons 617 and 12 from Lossiemouth. To know better about those characters, mostly about Squadron Leader James Alexander from Squadron 617, it'd be better to read my story "Odyssey Dawn". You can find it from my profile. **

**Also, as you go to the profile, please take the time to vote for my poll : "how would you like Alex and Blunt to meet again ?"... I'd be glad to know how you wish that would happen. I've got my own idea, but I'd like to see what you think about that.**

**Also, please, take time to review. I often find inspiration in those reviews.**

**Well, see you soon for Chapter 8 : Of old friends and new aircrafts !**


	9. Chapter 8 : Of old friends and new aircr

**A.N. : Well, it's been faster than I thought. As you've asked me, here comes more about Alex's and the Alexander's families. In this chapter, Alex and James meets again, with a small surprise (well, you'll see how it's goin' between Jack and Richard Alexander...). Also, some hint about what's coming in the next chapters, and another hint to some really good news that will arrive in chapter nine. But I won't tell you more, or I'd be giving up the whole plot...**

**Now, I also want to thank my reviewers.**

**Albany, as always, you were the first one to review. Until now I only have your opinion and some other one about how Alex and Blunt will meet again. At the end, I'll put again the "poll" about that. I'm also glad you like so much this story. It takes me some amount of work to write it, mostly on the research side trying to make it both historically and technically correct, even if part of the story is more in "alternate history" as I make some choices that differs from the ones really taken by the PM or by Royal Navy's High Command (for example, the CATBAR Typhoon and the HMS Independence - Ex USS Kitty Hawk)  
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**EnjolraSiriuSkywalker34, first thanks for your review. And of course, there will be more about the politics of war, even if Alex isn't so fond about politics (you'll see why in this chapter, with a hint to how he'll describe the war's mechanisms, due to his university degree...) Also, about MOSSAD, it won't be for this story, but for the already planned sequel (hint : it'll take place in the Persian Gulf and involve Iran, a crazy politician, and a threat towards Britain and Old Europe). But halas MOSSAD won't be in the center of the plot, but more act as one of the elements of the military response to the threat.**

**So, now, time for the disclaimers : ****I do not Own Alex Rider, it's property of Anthony Horrowitz (thanks for creating him, Anthony). Only the OC and the plot are mine, of course ! **

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><p><strong>Chapter 8 : Of old friends and new aircrafts<strong>

_RAF Station Wideawake, a week later..._

Alex had settled quite well in his new quarters with Sabina. Not that he intended to stay there long, but he was fine with the more... let's say Spartan, look of his new "interieur".

On his CO's and the station's commander's orders, he took the week off to settle down and spend some quality time with his wife and family.

Today, somehow, Sabina wasn't feeling well, and that left him worried. After pacing like a mad wolf for an hour or so, he was gently but firmly thrown out of his new home by Jack, and he finally ended in the pilot's lounge where he met squadron Leader Merril and the station's CO, Group Captain Dougherty.

"_Sirs_", he saluted them as he went to a couch, grabbing the Time's last edition off the table on his way.

"_McKittrick_", acknowledged his CO.

He then immersed himself in his newspaper for the next hour, but finally got distracted around ten o'clock by the roar of jet engines in the vicinity. "Well", he thought, "sure the Yanks or a civilian landing". He got back to his paper, having seen both Merril and Dougherty had left, but after ten minutes he again was pulled out of his reading by the door opening to a crown of pilots, in front of which he immediately recognized James Alexander.

"_Hey, Jim ! Glad to see you're finally here !_", he called over his Times, his face somewhat hidden from his friend.

"_John ? Is that you ?_", called back James Alexander.

"_Of course, Old chap. Had a nice flight ?_"

"_Well, if you don't take the fact of being torn fro your family on short notice only to be thrown in a carrier operations crash course and a crash conversion on the FGR4-N, then it's been a nice but long flight !_"

"_Wait... The FGR4-N ?_"

"_Yes. We'll operate on the brand new CATBAR variant of the bird, directly from the HMS independence. The Illustrious has also been taken from the Mediterranean to come over here with a squadron of Harriers and another one of Apache helicopters. The Ocean will also accompany them with the SAR and the transport squadrons._"

"_Fine. We'll finally be able to thrown them some good punches !_"

"_Oh, I forgot... You're transferred to my squadron, and promoted to Flight Lieutenant. Your CO is promoted to Wing Co and will act as CAG aboard the independence."_

"_Wow... That's quite some news..._"

"_Yeah, I know... By the way, I heard of your outstanding fight against the Etendards above Stanley... That was outstanding !_"

"_Well, we still lost the Islands to them...", Alex retorted, "that's not what I'd call a victory. By the way, when do we start our conversion on the Catbar Typhoon ?_"

"_We'll start next week. The carriers won't arrive before another fifteen days, so we're in no hurry. We'll start the basic training, and when the Independence will be here, we'll start then your qualifications as carrier pilots_."

"_I guess also that you'll need the rest after that long transit_."

"_Indeed, John. Even in supersonic transit, we still got to fly around fifteen hours to get from Lossiemouth to here..._"

"_Perfect. When you're settled in your quarters, I'd like to have both of you home for supper.", _Alex said to both Alexander's._ "I'm sure that my wife and sister will be glad to see you again..._"

"_Thanks a lot, John. We'll be there._", answered James.

"_OK. I'll get your here around eighteen hundred, is that all right ?_"

"_Just perfect. Well, we still have to report to the Old Man. See you soon, John !_"

_Aye, Guys !_"

* * *

><p><em>That evening in Alex's hut.<em>

"_Sabina, you're sure you're OK ?_", asked Jack

"_Sure, Jack. It's just some stomach bug, that's all..._"

"_All right. If you're sure you're OK..._"

At that moment, both woman heard the main door opening and Alex calling.

"_I'm home with our guests, honey !_"

"_Comin'_", Sabina answered.

Both her and Jack then came out of the kitchen where they had prepared the meal, a typical steak and kidney pie, and as dessert some carrot cake. As Sab entered the living room, Alex kissed her on the cheek, then as he saw she was quite pale, his over-active protective mode kicked in.

"_Sab, you're OK ? You seem ghostly pale..._"

"_Yeah. Just something I ate or drink today, I think. I'm OK, don't worry._"

"_All right. You already know Jim Alexander, and perhaps do you remember his brother Richard._"

"_Of course I remember them both. Glad to see you again, James, and you too, Richard. I'm sure Jack will be glad to see you again !_"

"_What's about me ?_", asked Jack as she came in from the kitchen. But as soon as she got in the living room, she got sight of James and Richard, and she then rushed to the latter... "_God, I'm so glad to see you again, Richard !_", she cried, throwing herself in his arms...

"_Hey, am I transparent or what ?_", then called James in mocked anger before turning to Alex. "_God, I may know Richie's always been a chick's magnet, I'm always surprised when this happens... Well, hope you're ready for a brother in law, Al... Seems to be serious between them..._"

"_Well_", then retorted Alex, "_I'd rather have him than any stranger as brother in law, you know... And Jack also deserves to be happy too. She's done so much for me in my youth that I think it's time she start to think a bit more about herself for once !_"

"_Well, I know Richie has never been serious about any woman, being all dedicated to school and later to his training in Cranwell... I think it's the first time I see him being so open to a girl._"

"_A bit like myself, James. Well, the only difference being that I already had Sab with me at the time", Alex answered his friend, "She has been a great coach trough my studies both in school, in University and finally in Cranwell... If I had done so well trough all of this, I owe it to her. I graduated at 17, then we went to St Andrews University where I got a degree in History and she got one in Literature_."

"_Wow_", uttered James, flabbergasted, "_I never knew you were so..._"

"_What ? A geek ?_"

"_Nah... I was about to say a Scholar !_"

"_That's close enough. I mastered in 20__th__ century military history, and minored in post French revolution history, mostly interested in the Napoleonic Wars !_"

"_Wow... And what about your thesis ?_"

"_Well, It was about the air war in the Falklands back in 1982. The effective use of carrier-based jump-jets in modern conflicts, I named it. It was mostly centred on the Falklands war, and the later use of Jump-jets in operations like Gulf war and in the Balkans_."

"_Gosh... Who could have guessed that your thesis subject would be preparing you to what's coming around now..._"

"_All I can say is that we've repeated the same mistakes. We thought that they wouldn't come even if we had but the strongest signals that they were to, and this "Catbar Typhoon" concept is quite rushed. It's lucky we've got part of the job done with the development of the STOBAR variant for India to speed up the process... And the Independence... IF we hadn't scrapped the Invincible too early, we'd have to STOBAR carriers. Now we're forced to even withdraw the Ocean from the Mediterranean operation theatre. Lucky us that Gaddafi's down and that both the Froggies and the Italians are able to back us up with the De Gaulle and the Garibaldi", said Alex, nearly sounding as his History teacher back in St Andrews..._

"_I know. That's why I always hated politics_", answered James, "_They're more interested in their paycheck and re-election than in doing the right thing for our country !_"

"_Same for me, Jim..._", Alex concluded, "_Same for me !_"

At that moment, Jack and Richard got out of the Kitchen, their hands full with the main course, an wonderful Steak and Kidney pie with lots of vegetables and French fries on the side.

"_Come on, boys !_", Jack hailed them, "_We could use a hand here. Al, could you fetch the beer in the fridge ?_"

"_No problem, Jack, I'll get it !_"

"_Mhhh... That seems delicious, and smells even better !_", Jim congratulated, his nose close over the steaming pie...

"_Thanks to Sabina. It's her mother's recipe_", added Jack as Alex was coming back from the kitchen with a pack of Scotch bottles and a bottle of water.

"_Ready for some good ol' McEwans, lads ?_", he asked Jim and Richard, putting the bottles on the table.

"_Yeah... Nearly like as home_", beamed Richard.

"_Just missing some good Haggis..._ ", added James.

"_Well, that's the only Scottish dish I was never able to appreciate_."

"_Well, Alex, you're a Londoner, that's why._", said Richard.

"_Stop that gibberish, brother_", retorted immediately James, "_don't forget our great-grandfather Peter was born in Denver, OK ? And that his mother was from Belgium, too !_"

"_Whow... How come you're British then ?_"

"_Well, Alex_", answered James, "_World War Two is to blame for that. Peter and his brother Thomas came to fight here early in the war. Peter was in Cambridge when the Nazi's attacked France, just graduated in June 1940... He joined the RAF and joined the 615__th__ for the battle of Britain. His brother arrived a tad later and joined the newly formed 71__st__ Eagle squadron, where he flew with Peter who was first his flight leader, then his squadron leader._"

"_Hmmm... So Thomas is an ancestor to your cousin Philip, then ?_"

"_Yes. He was his great-grandfather._"

"_So they were two brothers ?_"

"_No. In fact, there was four brothers. The third one, Philip, was a bomber pilot in Bomber Command, and died in 1945 during the bombing raids on Dresden. The youngest one, Frank, was a Navy fighter pilot, aboard USS Enterprise, and was killed by the Japs at the battle of Okinawa._"

"_Whow... What a story !_"

"_And what about you, Al ? I know your parents died when you were young, but that's nearly all I know about you..._"

"_Well, they were coming from a military family. There was a Rider in Wellington's army at Waterloo, he was in Lord Uxbridge's cavalry. My grandfather fought in Korea, where he was wounded. Both my dad and my uncle were in the SAS, and as you know my dad fought in '82 in the Falklands, while my uncle joined MI6 where he was later joined by my dad... You know the end of the story. My parents were murdered when my godfather planted a bomb in their aircraft, and my uncle died in the line of duty. Scorpia's the cause of both their deaths. All I have left now is Sabina, Jack, and Sab's family_."

"_Well, as I think you've surely already heard, Alex, you've got some screwed-up past...", _then told James, somewhat moved by that sad story,_ "Well... Lucky enough you've got your friends and newfound family..._"

"_Yeah... Well, enough about the past. What can you tell me about the CATBAR Typhoon ?_", then asked Alex, and they then immersed in technical talk while Richard, Jack and Sabina enjoyed the small talk about Scotland and what was happening there in the last months.

And the evening went on, Alex discussing more and more about his oncoming conversion on the new Typhoon with James, oblivious to the way Jack and Richard glanced at each other.

* * *

><p><em>McKittrick's hut, the next morning.<em>

As light swept through the blinds, Alex slowly emerged from his dreamless sleep. He smiled as he saw Sabina again used his chest as her pillow... He had missed so much waking up next to her when he was aboard the Protector, and soon enough they would wind up being separated again when he'd go fight to free the Islands from the clutches of the Scorpia-led Argies. Soon enough Sab stirred and opened her eyes, smiling to him.

"_Good morning, my love_", Alex greeted her.

"_Hello, gorgeous..._", she answered him, a smile on her face.

"_Slept well ?_"

"_I have. I'm really fine_", she started but she suddenly frowned then blurted out "_or rather was_" while darting towards the bathroom.

Alex, a bit unsettled by her behaviour, took a few seconds to snap out of his stupor and follow her in the bathroom. There, he found her unceremoniously on her knees in front of the toilet, throwing up. He then went to the sink, grabbed a glass and filled it with fresh water.

"_Here, love_", he said when the retching subsided, "_drink a bit, it's fresh water_."

"_Thanks, Al_.", she answered, her voice hoarse, "_I don't know what happened to me. Yesterday afternoon, it seemed to get better, but now I'm all nauseous and even the idea of a breakfast is too much..._"

"_Well, I'll get something for you in the pharmacy_."

"_Thanks, Honey. I'm already a tad better... I think I'm gonna change and then lie a bit..._"

"_OK. I'll be back soon_", Alex said, getting out of the bathroom in a rush. As he came in the kitchen, he noticed Jack was already there, preparing breakfast...

"_Hey, Alex, had a good night sleep ?_", she greeted him.

"_Yeah, but Sab's ill... Some stomach bug I think. Do you know where the Motilium is ?_"

"_There in the pharmacy, third shelf from the top, around the middle..._"

"_Ah ! Yay, it's there, perfect._", he said, grabbing the box. "_Well, could you prepare something light for her ? I don't think she'll be up to eggs and bacon today..._"

"_No problem at all, Al. I'll prepare toasts with butter and jam for her and some pancakes with maple syrup for you, if you want._"

"_That's fine. And also some black tea, I heard that it was helpful in such a case..._"

"_Right, I'll prepare that on a platter_."

"_Thanks, Jack. I'll help you if you want_."

"_OK. You could prepare the tea, then..._"

"_Will do, Jack !_"

Five minutes later, he came back to his bedroom with the platter in his hands, finding his wife lying on their bed, reading some book...

"_Better, Honey ?_"

"_Just a bit..._"

"_Here, take this_", he told her as he gave her the Motilium box. "_It'll help you get better. Jack also prepared some light breakfast for us... Toasts for you, pancakes for me..._"

"_That sounds delicious_", she said, gulping the medication with some of her tea.

"_Oh, by the way, Jim asked if we want to join Rich and him in a hike inland... Jack said yes, but if you're not up to it, then I'll stay with you._"

"_I'll be OK, love. I'm already feeling much better, thanks to the drug and this wonderful breakfast... Surely this will help me to get even better..._"

"_OK. Just finish to eat_", he said, finishing his tea in two large gulps, "_I'll get changed._"

"_OK. Love you, Al !_"

"_Love you more, Sab_"

* * *

><p><strong>A.N. : Voila ! End of chapter 8. Hope you've enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. A bit fluffy, I know, but that's how I wanted it to be. Alex missed his wife when he was aboard the Protector, and he knows well that he'll ultimately have to sail with the Independence, leaving Sabina alone again... <strong>

**Also, a little hint there about what will happen in Chapter 9 : The training begins. Alex getting to fly on the new Catbar Typhoon, training on ground for the carrier landings, more moments between Richard Alexander and Jack Starbright, and also (hinted here) some really good news for Alex and Sabina !**

**Finally, as I think it's not well noticeable in my profile, I repeat here the Poll about how you'd like Alex and Blunt to meet again in this story. Just choose one of the five options and reply via my Profile or by adding your choice to your review.**

_1. Alex finally faces Blunt after the war, visiting him in prison where he's as a POW before being sent  
>back to England for trial for high treason<em>

_2. They face each other during the final stages of the reconquest of the Falklands, and Alex captures him. _

_3. They face each other during the final stages of the reconquest of the Falklands, and Alex kills him in self defense._

_4. They face each other as Alex leads a SAS mission from the refitted HMS Invincible, and Blunt is killed by Alex and K-Unit  
>as they fight each other near Mount Pleasant,<em>

_5. They face each other as Alex leads a SAS mission from the refitted HMS Invincible, and Blunt is captured by Alex and K-Unit  
>near Mount Pleasant (extraction by Tom's Sea-King) <em>

**Last words : I'll be in London next month (from august 10****th**** to august 18****th****) for my researches in the National Archives (mostly about RAF in WWII) The next chapter will therefore take a bit longer to arrive. Don't worry though, this story will definitely continue until it's end. **

**So, If you're to be in the area at the time and would like to meet me, just leave me a MP. I'll stay near Euston Station, and I always can find some time to get a drink with any of my readers.  
><strong>

**Your writer, Eric J. Alderson**

**Liège, Belgium.**


	10. Chapter 9 : The training begins

**A.N. : Whew... I never thought I'd be able to wrap up chapter nine so fast, but all the reviews already received and the messages received from one of my readers (and also writer of a story I really like about Alex and Sabina), it powered my will to write so much that I sat relentlessly at my desk for hours, writing the chapter and reading trough my documentation to try and describe perfectly how the ground training for carrier landing should happen. **

**Before going further, I still have to thank that reader. So, Bonkers., I owe you a H.U.G.E. Thanks for your message(s). I hope you'll enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed yours about Alex and Sabina's life after Scorpia's Rising (I know, I'm more in AU with Jack still alive, but still the way you put it, I would not be able not to like it). And to all my other reviewers, a HUGE thanks also for your support and your kind messages. **

**This**** chapter will still have some interaction between Alex, Sabina & family (and friends also), before entering in chapter 10 in the final stage of the preparations to the retaking of the Islands,and also some moments with our most beloved – or most hated, as you wish – SAS group : K-Unit...(Oooohhh... I can already hear chuckles over there in the back of the class... Don't worry, there will be funny moments involving them...)**

**And so now, time for the disclaimers again : ****I do still not Own Alex Rider, it's still property of Anthony Horrowitz (Again all my thanks for creating him, Anthony). Only the OC and the plot are mine, of course ! **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9 : The training begins<strong>

RAF Wideawake, February 6th, 2012.

After a week-end spent home with his wife, Alex was getting ready for his conversion on the brand new FGR4-N variant of the Typhoon. As he left home with a last kiss to his wife, he was somewhat eager to start his training, but also worried about Sabina. For the last few days, she hadn't been well, always throwing up in the mornings, loosing appetite, and developing strong dislike for some kind of food... "Perhaps...", he started to think, but quickly shoved that thought away, not wanting to give himself false hopes. He had finally decided her to go to the station's medical facility for a check-up, and that was enough to ease a bit his worries.

As he parked his leased Ford in front of the dispersal, he saw that Jim was already checking on the fighters...

"_Hey, Old chap !_", he called him as he got out of his car, "_You're up quite early today..._"

"_Well_", Jim Alexander answered him, "_I've always been quite an early bird. How's Sabina, by the way ?_"

"_Still the same. She's going to the doc today, though. I really hope this isn't too serious..._"

"_Nah, it's certainly just all the stress from the invasion and the evacuation, plus having to settle down here on short notice while you were still in harm's way on the Protector... I bet she'll be back to her normal self soon enough, just give her time..._"

"_I really hope it, you know._"

"_Hey, Guys !_", then called Richard Alexander from the dispersal's doorstep, "_Ready for your first day of training, 'lex ?_"

"_Shhhhh... Call me John over here, or call me by my call-sign : Hawk !_"

"_Right-O, Hawk-Man !_"

"_Well, are we starting, then ?_"

* * *

><p><em>Wideawake Military Hospital, an hour later...<em>

Having been driven there by Jack, who was going to the supermarket in Georgetown, Sabina entered the medical complex. Arriving at the reception, she called her appointment with doctor Connors in. At the same time, an office's door opened ans a young lady, not older than 30, called the receptionist.

"_Janet, could you call me as soon as Mrs McKittrick will arrive ? My previous patient was unable to make it here, so she can enter directly if she's early._"

"_Well, she just arrived, Dr Connors._"

Sabina then went to the young doctor.

"_Sabina McKittrick. Pleasure to meet you, Dr Connors._"

"_McKittrick... Wouldn't you be related to this pilot from Mount Pleasant who shot down seven Argentinian fighters ?_"

"_I am indeed... he's my husband !_"

"_Well, My brother is a fighter pilot in the Navy, and he would give anything to be able to meet him... Your husband is quite a legend in the pilot's community..._ "

"_He is indeed, I know, even if he rather like to claim that he was just enough lucky to get out of there alive..._ "

"_Well, enough about our pilots_", she then said, closing her office's door behind them, "_so, what's the problem exactly_".

"_First there is morning sicknesses_", answered Sabina, "_mostly nausea first but it has turned to throwing up lately, also I tire more and faster than usual and can't eat much in the morning while I get rather hungry in the afternoon..._"

"_I'd say, if you'd asked to see me, it's that you've had suspicions, isn't it ?_"

"_Yeah... More even till I discovered I'm late on my cycle..._"

"_Then, let's make a few tests to see if you're right about that, shall we ?_"

Thirty minutes later, Sabina exited the office with a huge smile plastered on her face and a beige envelope in her hand...

* * *

><p><em>Ten thousand feet above the South Atlantic, 30 miles south of Wideawake.<em>

"_Falcon One to Falcon Two, that's fine. You seem to have a good grip on this bird. Let's head back for a session of carrier-landing practice, shall we ?_"

"_Falcon Two, Roger and Wilco !_"

The two Typhoons then turned north, decreasing their altitude to two thousand feet. Soon enough, they got sight of the station.

"_OK, Hawk-Man_", called Richard Alexander in Falcon One, "_You see the markings at the end of the runway ? You must touch down between the yellow lines, and never get before the first red line and beyond the second one..._"

"_Let me guess, Leader... Before the first one I'm dead, and after the second one I've got a Bolter, isn't it ?_"

"_Right-O, Two. For this exercise, you'll follow the instruction of the Landing System Officer, or LSO. Jimmy will be acting LSO for today. He'll be on our frequency, call-sign Mother Goose._"

"_Copy, One. Mother Goose, Falcon Two is on final ten clicks south of threshold, level two, over._", called Alex as he lined up with the runway.

"_Falcon Two, get down to level one at five clicks, speed to one eighty, and call the ball._"

"_Falcon One, copy that, Mother Goose._"

Alex then throttled down to 50 % thrust and lowered the flaps to 20 degrees. He slowly started to descend to ten hundred feet while loosing progressively speed. One minute later, he called back.

"_Mother Goose, Falcon Two calling the Ball, level one, speed one ninety, heading one eighty straight !_"

"_Roger that, Falcon Two. Stay on this line, speed down to one eighty, you're on the groove..._"

"_Falcon Two, roger and wilco !_"

Twenty seconds later, Alex lowered the gear and hook, and adjusted the throttle to maintain a speed of one hundred and eighty knots. The runway was approaching fast, and he nosed up a bit...

"_Falcon Two, gear and hook down, speed one eighty, level point six at three clicks._"

"_Copy, Falcon Two. Up the nose a bit... steady... steady... and... Touch Down !_"

The Typhoon's wheels then hit the runway with a screeching sound right between the yellow lines, a perfect number two as they called it in the US Navy. Alex immediately pushed the throttle to full military power and retracted the flaps, calling a bolter on the radio.

"_Falcon Two, Mother Goose_", then called James Alexander from the ground, "_that was a perfect number two. Let's try this again, ok ?_"

"_Roger that, Mother Goose. Falcon Two turning south for a new approach. Out !_"

After thirty minutes and three other number two's, Alex finally landed his new bird and parked it near the dispersal. He was quickly joined there by both Alexander's brothers for the mission debriefing.

"_OK, Hawk. First part of the mission was perfect for me_", started Richard Alexander, "_You got the bird well under control, there's no hesitation in your flying and you've perfectly integrated the new specifications, specially about the difference in thrust power due to the increased weight..._"

"_I read about that, and also realised when taking off that he was quite heavier than my regular FGR-4, so I increased the thrust by ten percent for each manoeuvre, just to stay on the safe side..._"

"_That's just perfect, exactly what to do when you're flying a new bird. Unless that, there is nothing special on my side, all was perfectly nominal._", concluded Richard, turning to his brother. "_Jim ?_"

"_OK. On all your four landings, you got cable number two. That's perfect. You juge well on the distance and speed, but still are too "soft" on your landings. When you're landing on a carrier wich moves quite a bit, you're allowed to be a bit rougher at the touch-down, the landing gear has been reinforced for carrier ops, hence the increased weight, and it'll take the stress without any problem. I'd say you're still much of an "Earthling" and need to get your sea-feet on this new bird..._"

"_Noted._"

"_Well, unless all this, that was a perfect mission, a nine point five for me. We'll practice again tomorrow, but I think you'll be ready to start your qualifications as soon as the Independence arrives._"

"_Perfect. Thanks, Jim, Richard !_"

* * *

><p><em>McKittrick's hut, at the same time...<em>

"_Jaaaaack ?_", called Sabina as she closed the frond door, having paid her taxi ride back from her doctor's appointment.

"_Already there, Sabina ?_"

"_Yeah, I got in earlier than I thought. Is Alex back ?_"

"_Not yet... Why, is there a problem ?_"

"_Well... Yes... and No..._ "

"_What ? You're ill ?_ "

"_Nah... I'm fine, Jack. Just that what I've learned shall give Alex quite a shock..._"

"_Huh ? No... don't tell me that..._ "

"_Yep, Jack, you're going to be an Auntie !_"

A loud whoop was then heard from outside the hut as a flock of birds, spooked by the noise, took off to the skies... Sabina's parents, who just happened to get back from a shopping trip and were leaving their car in front of their hut, heard the noise too...

"_Well, Liz_", told Edward Pleasure to his wife, "_I think Jack's again made some bad move in the Kitchen..._"

"_Sure, Ed. I know John isn't there... Should we investigate ?_"

"_Nah... No use stepping in a war zone if you can avoid it, if I may quote our daughter..._", answered Edward, joining then his wife in a fit of laughter as they imagined what the kitchen, and more so Jack, would look like...

* * *

><p>Two hours later, as Sabina had already told her parents the good news, Alex came back totally exhausted by his training flight with Richard Alexander. He directly collapsed in the sofa, setting himself for a nice afternoon nap. What he wasn't aware was that his afternoon would be everything but resting. As soon as he had gotten himself comfortable, he was met by the sight of his glowing wife coming out of the kitchen.<p>

"_Hey Love... What's making you so happy ?_ "

"_Well, Alex, I got some news, but I think you'd rather stay seated for this..._"

"_As you wish, Sweetheart_", Alex answered, motioning her to sit near him. "_I'm all ears_".

"_As you know, I went to the doctor this morning, all right ?_"

"_Yeah... Is everything all right ?_"

"_Well, sort of... Although I'm not ill at all, those symptoms will continue for some time..._"

"_What is is then, Love ?_", asked Alex, starting to worry about his wife's health.

"_You see, it's about you and me... and what we've done lately and... well... the consequences of it, could you say..._"

"_Honey, please, you're really starting to frighten me now... What's going on ? What have I done wrong ?_"

"_Oh, you've done nothing wrong, Alex, you rather did it all right, might I say... You see... you're going to be a father, Alex... I'm pregnant !_"

Alex sat there stunned, his mouth hanging wide open, his eyes wide like saucers... that is, until the flash of a camera came on and brought him back crashing to reality : he was going to be a Dad !

"_Jack, bloody Hell !_", he groaned at first, wiping his eyes, "_you know I really hate that..._", but soon he forgot that as not more than a few seconds later he got up and lifted his wife in a tight embrace... "_Oh God, Sabina... Love, that's wonderful news. You've just made me the happiest man on earth !_"

"_I'm so happy too, Alex...The doc said I'm two month along. Hope you'll be here for our baby's birth, right ?_"

"_Honey, I swear that nothing will make me miss that. The Argies are better getting ready to leave Stanley before I come there, or they'll experience the worst kick in the ass they'll have ever seen if they ever try to get between me and my baby's birth..._"

"_Hey, I want a niece_", then cut Jack.

"_Sorry, Jack, but I'm in for a boy..._", then answered Sabina, tears of joy in her eyes.

"_You know, Love_", then cut Alex, "_I'd rather have a girl with your eyes and your smile..._"

"_Wait till she's fourteen and you'll change your mind Pronto, dear !_", Sabina replied lightly to her husband, chuckling at the thought of Alex being overprotective of their daughter...

"_Bah... No use drawing plans on the comet. We'll know soon enough if we're to search for boys or girls names..._ "

"_Yeah... and more, how to tell it to Tom without him teasing us to death about baby names ?_"

* * *

><p><strong>A.N. : Voila ! End of chapter 9. Hope you've enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. <strong>

**As said earlier, in chapter 10, other than Tom teasing relentlessly Alex about baby names, we'll see the arrival of K-Unit and some awkward moments (mostly when they recognise Alex in Flight Lieutenant McKittrick) and I promise you a HUGE prank on the unit by Alex and Tom (prepare yourself to get one hell of a laugh with that, I already have the idea lurking and it'll be totally and utterly exhilarating ... ;-))))**

**Finally, I would like to remind you again of the Poll about how you'd like Alex and Blunt to meet again in this story. Just choose one of the five options and reply via my Profile or by adding your choice to your review.**

_**Alex finally faces Blunt after the war, visiting him in prison where he's as a POW before being sent back to England for trial for high treason**_

_**They face each other during the final stages of the reconquest of the Falklands, and Alex captures him. **_

_**They face each other during the final stages of the reconquest of the Falklands, and Alex kills him in self defence.**_

_**They face each other as Alex leads a SAS mission from the refitted HMS Invincible, and Blunt is killed by Alex and K-Unit as they fight each other near Mount Pleasant,**_

_**They face each other as Alex leads a SAS mission from the refitted HMS Invincible, and Blunt is captured by Alex and K-Unit near Mount Pleasant (extraction by Tom's Sea-King) **_

**Last words : I'll be in London next week for a long 9-days research trip(from the 10****th**** to the 18****th****) I'll mostly spend in the National Archives (mostly researching about RAF in WWII and RAF/FAA/RN in the Falklands in 1982) So, the next chapter will perhaps take a bit longer before it arrives. Don't worry though, this story will definitely continue until it's end. Also, if you're in London city at that time and want to meet in front of a fresh glass of beer or a nice cup of tea, discussing about my story(ies) and my next story projects, just send me a PM. The hotel where I'm staying have Wireless Internet and so I'll still be able to stay in touch.  
><strong>

**Your writer, Eric J. Alderson**

**Liege, Belgium.**


	11. Chapter 10 : K Unit arrives ? Oh Krap !

**A.N. : Here comes our favourite and most infamous SAS unit : K Unit ! Of course, there will be pranks, practical jokes (with a maniacal practical joker, AKA Tom Harris. !) and even more to come in the next chapter. **

**I really hope you'll like the way I make Al prank the poor SAS guys, cause I spent some time laughing my butt at the idea of some of those pranks (the most memorable being when I conjured an image of Wolf after the first prank covered in grease and feathers... Oh god what a laugh !)  
><strong>

**And now, time for the disclaimers again : ****I do still not Own Alex Rider, (sob...) it's still property of Anthony Horrowitz. Only the OC and the plot are mine, of course ! **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10 : K unit arrives ? Oh K-rap !<strong>

The next few days saw Alex beaming with pride and joy at the prospective of becoming a father. Even the permanent teasing treatment he got from both Tom and his spitfire of a wife wasn't able to erase his good mood. But that couldn't last long, couldn't it ?

Indeed not. As interpreted from Murphy's law, it's always when it shouldn't happen that shit happens... In fact, that day, a group of three C-130 transport aircraft arrived from Britain with some troops, and that's when Hell rained on Earth for Alex : K unit was among them. Those pesky, cocky, despicable egotistical sons of... Err... soldiers from SAS's K-Unit. Eagle, Snake, Bear, and of course Wolf... Especially Wolf, that bloody idiot who nearly ruined his stay with the SAS years ago... Well, he still got his revenge when he kicked his sorry arse out of a Hercules during a parachute jump training – the bloody idiot had the fear of height, He later took a bullet for him in Point Blank Academy, but still...

And do not forget Ben Daniels, aka Fox, ex-SAS soldier turned MI-6 agent. He knew about his former line of work, and knew him well enough as he was involved in the Snakehead mission...

But more important still was the fact that Alex Rider, the boy they had known, was dead... and still there he was in Wideawake field... For a second, he thought about ways to avoid them, but the only one would be to either go back to Britain or to join the forces deployed in Afghanistan, both choices he didn't like a bit as he wanted more than anything to fight the Argies back and throw them out of the Falklands where he had a so perfect little life with his small family.

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><p><em>Aboard Hercules Sierra 21, Wideawake's Runway.<em>

The Hercules had just landed and the SAS aboard got ready to disembark. For them, it was a mission like any other, with the slight difference that they would fight on British soil to rid it of the invading Argies. They would be once again the « Fer de Lance », like back in '82 when they led an assault on the airfield in Pebble Island.

Within the eight units, one was there with another motive : infiltrate the Argies to capture and bring back the vice-governor of the Islands installed by the Argentinians, a guy going by the codename S-106 and better known as Alan Blunt, former MI-6 director and notorious traitor to the British Empire. Their goal was to catch him alive so that MI-6 would be able to put him on the « Grill » until he squeaked like the Tweety Bird.

Of course, after that a long flight from Breacon Beacons, they were quite eager to just get out of that tin can, Eagle even more than the others.

« _Hey, guys_ », he said, « _you think that there will be bars and pubs like home here in Ascension ?_ »

« _Eagle ?_ »

« _Ya, Wolf ?_ »

« _SHUT UP !_ », then shouted all the rest of K-unit like one man.

Eagle then got back to his seat, mumbling a string of cusses under his breath. Not fife minutes later, the plane stopped on the parking area and the rear ramp was lowered.

« _OK EVERYBODY_ », shouted the Sergeant, « _EVERYBODY OUT AND GROUPED BY UNITS. WE'LL THEN BE ASSIGNED OUR DORMITORIES BEFORE WE'LL GET A NICE TEN MILES HIKE AFTER WE SETTLED . NOW MOVE IT !_ »

They all rushed out and got grouped by units in front of the aircraft under the watchful eye of a bunch of pilots who were just back from a training mission. Alex, who was among them and was animatedly talking to James Alexander while the SAS soldiers were getting out of the plane, suddenly went silent. He had spotted K-unit among the soldiers and, as he snapped out of his stupor, he cusses like a old seaman, quite shocking James.

« _Drat, John, I never knew you could cuss like this._ »

« _Bloody dratted F****** Hell... Hide me, quick They are not to see me, not now ! There's the unit I trained with when I was a Dubble-Oh-Nothin' over there !_ »

« _No way !_ »

« _Yes, Way ! What the F*** Jones had been thinking, sending that unit, F****** Damn It !_ »

« _Calm down, John, we'll get in the dispersal and I'll drive you home later. They sure won't stay here for long as we're already more than the base can accommodate..._ »

« _Er, James, have you ever heard about tents ? They all carry one in their bags, you know ?_ »

« _Blast It ! You're right, how could I have not thought about that..._ »

« _OK, let's go ! We'll see what I can do to avoid them as much as I can, even if I can't see any way to perform such a feat as for now !_ »

* * *

><p><em>The next morning, Wideawake Field.<br>_

Alex had called Jones as soon as he got back from the station, of course. He learned then that K-Unit was briefed about a former agent now fighter pilot that would work with them in reason of his knowledge of the target and of the area of operation. She just omitted, she said, to warn them that the pilot in question was Alex. « _They won't recognise you_ », she said, « _You're older, have matured and quite changed physically since the time they knew you... and even if they do, well you'll just fill them in after you made them sign the Secret Service Act !_ »

Well, easier said than done, he thought, and then slowly a crazy idea made his way in the devious brain of his : what if he pranked them with Tom's help ? That would be a Hell of a Payback for the old times, and then the fact that he just had quite, to put it bluntly, « came back from the dead », would go easier on them.

Well, that was of course right until you started to take into account Tom's crazy, foolish and utterly Asylum-worth ideas. Not that Alex would have not agreed. The idea was accepted as soon as Tom had uttered it, Alex doubling over in laughter as he imagined what they would look like.

They prepared the prank under the cover of the night with the help of James and Richard, said prank needing quite a load of oil, grease and more important even bags of white feathers. To top it all, they rigged the place with cameras and mikes to keep a record of their faces, and planted as a last detail some faked eggs. When all was ready, they waited for them, and as soon as they entered the room, all Hell came loose.

* * *

><p><em>Flight 1345 briefing room.<em>

Tom, Jim and Richard were well hidden in an adjacent room, manning the video system, while Alex waited to greet them in great style. And when they finally came in, having been called for a "briefing" with Flight Lieutenant McKittrick, the prank went without a hitch. As they pushed the door, they were drenched with oil and grease, then came the feathers raining on them, accompanied by the sound of cackling chickens worth ten times Chicken Run's mad chickens... Then Alex got a compact digital camera out of his pocket and snapped a shot of them all. Suddenly, as he noticed Wolf's expression of utter despise at being covered in sticky oil and feathers "Western-Style", he doubled over in laughter while the mad cackling sound continued.

After a minute of that deliciously laughable sight, he signalled discretely Tom to stop the recording and came to the now fuming K-Unit.

" _Hello Guys !_", he said to them, "_I'm Flight Lieutenant Jonathan McKittrick, Flight 1345 RAF._" Then, removing his shades and his hat, he stood there in front of a completely flabbergasted K-Unit. "_Missed me, Guys ?_"

To tell that the five of them were utterly speechless would be an understatement. Wolf opened his mouth to speak, but soon shut it, coughing like a mad man. The other ones were too shocked to even try to utter a sound. As Wolf finally coughed out the feather that stuck itself in his windpipe, he took a great breath and then started to shout at Alex.

"_What the Hell, Cub ! What's that for an idea to pull that on us ? Are you mad or what ?_"

"_No, just a tad crazy. The idea was Tom's... He's the insane prankster here !_"

"_Damn You ! You always find a way to... Wait... But... That's impossible ! You're dead, you were killed in that plane crash last year with both your family and Tom's ! How... ?_"

"_Just one word, Wolf : Scorpia ! I pissed the wrong men when I nearly destroyed their organisation and they decided I had to be destroyed. That's why MI-6 planned this 'crash' and 'killed' me. And that's how I finally ended in the Falklands and, after the last events, here in Wideawake._"

"_Holy Crap !_", uttered Eagle, finally recovering of his initial shock.

"_Al ? Is that really you ?_", then asked Fox.

"_Yea, Ben, it's me, your Double-oh-nothing in the flesh !_", Alex answered them."_Sorry for that_", he then added, pointing to the feather coated chicken-like K-Unit, "_I know it's quite a long run but, well, after the trip wire and the Tyrolean ride tricks back in Breacon Beacons, don't tell me you couldn't have seen it coming sooner or later... Well, I know it's quite rather on the later side, but still..._ "

And as Tom and the Alexander brothers got out from the adjacent room to greet them too, Alex got reacquainted with his fellow SAS mates, remembering good old times... and not so good old times too... An hour later, after they all got the mess that was the briefing room cleaned, they gathered at Alex's for supper. As soon as she knew K-unit was in Ascension, she invited them for a meal.

"_Well, now that we all recovered from your insanely moronic prank, would you be so kind as to tell us what happened to get you to go through all this ?_", asked Wolf.

"_Well, you know... It's quite a long story !_", Alex started, "_So, your better get yourselves comfortable._"

"_I'll get us some beer, Al_", then called Tom who then went to the kitchen with Sabina to get them drinks and some finger food.

It was really late in the night that K-unit left for their dormitories, quite shocked by what they learned from Alex. They now had a newfound respect and admiration for the then-teenager accomplishments and from then on they would show him more the respect they have for him.

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><p><strong>A.N. : Voila ! End of chapter 10. Hope you've enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. <strong>

**In the next chapter, again K-Unit, some of Tom's best pranks, and also a bit of Alan Blunt (yes, I'm sure you thought I had forgot him somewhere, isn't it ? )**

**Finally, I would like to remind you again of the Poll about how you'd like Alex and Blunt to meet again in this story. Just go to my profile page where you'll find the link to the poll.  
><strong>

**Last words : I'm actually in London (I'm leaving on thursday). My researches in the National Archives about the RAF in WWII are nearly done for now, and I'm still due to complete my researches about the Falklands 1982 war in the RAF Museum reading room and some more about Overlord in Kew. **

**As soon as I'll be back home, I'll be swimming through all the pilot's and Squadron's operation reports and other documents to organize and compile them in my own bookshelves. That's why the next chapter will take a bit longer to be posted. It's already written down in my "log book", but it'll take a little longer to get it typed down and corrected in the computer, ready to post here. So do not worry and, please, pretty please, leave me a review so as I can know what you think of the story. Thanks in advance for that.**

**Your writer, Eric J. Alderson**

**Liege, Belgium.**


	12. Chapter 11 : Tales of practical Joksters

**A.N. :Yikes, I never knew I would be able to post two chapters while staying in London for my research work... But still, I found time to type it and post it. So I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it... Of course, here comes again our favourite and most infamous SAS unit : K Unit ! And there will be pranks again ! It's indeed the last time they'll have time to relax before getting ready to go to war, so they'll enjoy this to the maximum. **

**Time for the disclaimers again : ****I do not Own Alex Rider, it's still property of Anthony Horrowitz. Only the OC and the plot are mine, of course ! **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11 : tales of practical joksters.<strong>

The next few days following the « Chicken-ing » of K-Unit saw little trouble. Only Alex was a bit teased by Tom and his fiancée about baby names. The last one they found was a good one, though...

_Flashback – 24 hours earlier_

«_ Hey, Al _», Tom called to his friend as he was having tea with Sabina at his friend's house. «_ You know I have always said you were the kind of guy who could make anyone bad turn good, right ? _», he added.

«_ Yeah, I know, I am able of this feat by, as you say, annoyingly appearing near said guy each time he's up to no good..._ », Answered Alex.

«_ Exactly. Well, that gave me an idea for your child's first and second names if it were to be a boy : James Nicholas !_ »

«_ Not so bad _», said Sabina, liking the way it sounded.

«_ Still, you'd have to change your last name, though... McKittrick won't work ! _»

«_ Huh ? _», answered Alex, not understanding at all the joke behind his friend's antics...

«_ Aye ? You'd rather go by Rickett than by McKittrick, you know ? _»

«_ Rickett ? Where in the blazes have you found that kind of name ?_ »

«_ Well, I can't tell, that's a secret. But with nicknames, it'd definitely work ! _»

«_ Nicknames ? Oh Lord, I really start to fear where you're going now... _»

«_ Nah... Should it not be fine, calling him Jimmy Nick Rickett ? _», Tom said deadpan !

It took Alex a couple seconds to process the joke, then his eyes went wide while he stared dumbly to his ''friend''... (try to read the name aloud and fast, you'll understand...)

«_ Tom ? _», he said quietly after recovering from the shock.

«_ Ya ? _», answered Tom fearfully, as nothing is more scary in the world, scratch that, in the Universe than a quiet Alex.

«_ RUN ! _», he shouted to his friend, standing up in a flash, ready to pounce at him. Tom; of course, had the good idea to run as fast as he can to the front yard where Alex tackled him "SAS" style, putting to shame even the best rugbymen from the All Blacks.

James Alexander, who happened to stop his car, coming to grab Alex and Sabina who were to join him at a party hosted by the 617th squadron's pilots, had the good grace to laugh of it.

«_ Don't tell me, Old Chap... Another baby name related joke, is it ? _»

« _Exactly. I swear to god that if he does not stop soon, he'll end up in the back seat of the twin-seater for a session of aerobatics I have the secret of..._»

That threat made Tom go ghostly pale, then he nodded, not able to speak as he had his breath cut by his fall.

«_OK. I see. It clicked !_», he answered, standing up, «_Hope now he'll stick to that resolution !_», concluded Alex as Jim was laughing at the two friend's antics.

_End of Flashback_

As it can be seen, that wasn't too «heavy loaded». But that day, Tom was really up to no good. He had decided to prank both Al and K-Unit while their ran their daily morning jog around the Station. He really should had known better than to piss off both the SAS soldiers and Alex, as all together they were really a force to reckon with... An «Arme Fatale», more dangerous even than ten nuclear bombs.

And there he was, waiting along the trail where Al came each morning for his jog, now joined by K-Unit, and prepared his booby-trap. Let's just say that it involved trip wire, camouflage cloth and a small pit filled with loads of coloured mud... And not any colour, but a bright flashy brownish green... His feat accomplished, he hid in a bush with his camera at the ready and patiently waited for his targets to arrive.

He had not to wait too long, and that wait was quite worth it ! They came, Alex in head, and tripped as one man, falling in the muddy pit... to end up covered of sticky flashy brownish green mud, what had Tom doubled over in laughter while the pranked soldiers and one very irate and bloodthirsty ex-agent turned fighter pilot, the latter knowing well who had pulled that one, were completely and utterly disgusted by the substance covering their running clothes.

«_Toooooom ?_», shouted a really pissed and fuming Alex, «_You better get ready to run cause as soon as I'm out of here, you're dead meat !_»

Tom snapped a last picture of his friend and then made a hasty retreat, dashing for the safety of the Station and his Sea-King's cockpit as he was to fly a training mission with L and M units an hour later. Let's say to conclude this that he got away unscathed for once, and with some highly explosive blackmail material !

* * *

><p><em>Wideawake Field briefing room, later that day.<em>

After he showered and changed, Alex met James and Richard who, as soon as they saw him enter, tried to the best of their ability to muffle down their laughter... He quite easily understood that the «Practical Jokster» had not only got him and K-Unit, but that he had also taken loads of pictures as proof of it... And let's just say that the face Alex made while he got up in the mud pit was quite hilarious !

«_Okay, Guys. Enough of that laughing fit about me, OK ? Did he gave you pictures of K-Unit, by the way _?»

«_Sure he had... He told us it was some kind of peace present to you_», James said, giving him a pack of photographs... and for the next ten minutes all you could hear was Alex's clear laugh echoing through all the Station's HQ.

Let's just say that the faces made by K-Unit's members were priceless. But when he got to the last ones, who happened to be of Wolf's utterly un-Wolfish astonishment, he just exploded. In fact, try to imagine Wolf-man, a look of utter bewilderment on his face, his clothes covered in a brownish-green goo-like substance, that same substance dripping from his hair in his face. A dripping-wet mud-soaked Wolf was quite an hilarious sight for Alex. This was the Ultimate Payback for all the Hell he rained on him when he was in Breacon Beacons long ago when he was 14 !

After he recovered from his laughing fit, Alex put the pictures in his jacket, planning to show them to Sabina and Jack that evening, and got back to his fellow friends, an impish grin on his face...

«_Jim, Ritch, That was just brilliant. But as much as I would gladly enjoy a nice morning, I know we've got another training session... But, to even the odds a bit, what about getting some low-level flying practice ?_»

«_You, Alex, have once again a devilish idea in that devious head of yours..._», answered James, a huge grin on his face. «_OK, fire it off, Buster !_»

«_Well, ya know, it happens that K-Unit, along with some other SAS units, are having some combat training not far from the sea, in that area_», he said pointing the training range on the mural map. «_What would you th;ink of dropping on them unannounced ? Just to give those little laddies a «wake-up call», façon «R.A.F», huh ?_»

By that time, Jim and Ritch were both doubled over in laughter at the idea of the fright and the utter shock it would give the poor unsuspecting SAS soldiers...

«_Woah ! That's really a good one, Al. I know well the area, I've flown over there yesterday_», said Jim, «_Look on the map, there is a small valley there_», he continued pointing on the mural map, «_we'll come trough it at low level, jump that small ridge, and we'll just drop on them like the devil popping out of the box !_»

«_Yeah_», added Richard, «_They won't definitely know what hit them, even more if we drop down to fifty feet at Mach point nine five. It might make some of them wet their pants, you know..._»

«_Let me say, Ritch, that your mind is even more devious than mine. You've really have the makings of an evil criminal mastermind_».

«_Well, why won't you remind that to me at supper, so I can see Tom's face at it ? Oh, and by the way, I'll fit a camera pod on my Typhoon, so we'll have some proof of all this... You'll take the lead, Jim on your right wing, and I'll trail on the left to get the pictures of those poor scared kiddies._»

«_Oh Yeah !_», then uttered Alex, doubled over again in laughter, «_The brand new R.A.F. Super-production : SAS Kiddies versus The Mighty Typhoon !_»

«_Nice title_», said Ritch, «_I like the way that rolls out_», he then added, Will E Coyote style before doubling over in laughter too.

«_OK. Let's go get them, boys. Operation ''Scaring the Hell out of the SAS Kiddie-Kids'' is officially launched !_», Alex concluded as the three of them left for the lockers to get their flight gear on.

* * *

><p><em>Thirty minutes later, SAS Training grounds.<em>

K-Unit was again doing the assault course. As they were getting ready, Eagle complained to Wolf about the prank they were subjected that morning.

«_Who knew Tom was the one who would pull such a prank on us... Really, that guy is Evil !_»

«_Ya... Now I know where Cub got those crazy prank ideas of his..._», answered Fox.

«_GO, K-UNIT, MOVE IT !_», yelled the Sergeant.

Without a second glance, they all started to run to the first obstacle, the «crawling net», unaware that they were about to experience what soldiers caught under an air attack called «Hell raining down on earth» !

* * *

><p><em>Typhoon Red Leader, ten miles of the target.<em>

«_Red One to Red Squadron, target ten clicks. Let's hit the deck, boys !_»

«_Two_»

«_Three_»

The three Typhoons formation led by Alex got down to fifty feet at a near sonic speed of Mach point nine three. As soon as they levelled off, his speed indicator's needle was on point nine eight... They then entered the small valley, maintaining a loose VIC formation. After 30 seconds of a «steeple-chase» flight through the small canyon, they neared the end of it.

«_That's it, Boys !_», called, Alex, «_Let's scare the hell out of them. Tally-Ho !_», he then yelled, pulling a bit on the stick to jump the ridge. «_Leader to Three, roll cameras and Action !_», he then concluded as he crossed the ridge, getting sight of the training ground ahead.

* * *

><p><em>SAS training grounds, at the same moment.<em>

The soldiers of K and S units were exiting the «crawling net», starting to run to the next obstacle when all Hell broke loose. The three fighters, in a loose formations, crossed the ground at fifty feet and at near sonic speed in a deafening sound, scaring the hell out of all the soldiers on the grounds.

Wolf jumped a bit, spooked by the deafening roar of the six Turbofan jet engines at full power, but the most wonderful sight was the one of Eagle jumping nearly five feet up with a quite girlish yelp... All were utterly shocked, not knowing at all what had hit them.

The first to recover, Wolf uttered a full scope of curse who would have made proud the most foul mouthed sailor. He was facing the arriving planes and as they were closing on them he got sight of them, yet being spooked a bit by the mighty roar of the twin jet engines on full afterburner !

«_What the Hell was that !_», asked the Sergeant.

«_That, Sir_», answered Wolf, «_is how the flying boys of the RAF love to spend their time on low level flight training : Scaring the poor soldiers out of their wits... And be sure it won't stay silent... The last of the fighters had a Recce pod, so I'm pretty sure they have everything on film, and also I'm quite sure too that all this was Cub's idea on how to spend a nice morning at our expense !_»

«_Well, then I count on you to find a way to make him pay for this, OK ?»_

«_Gladly, Sir_», answered Wolf with a Wolfish grin...

Sure enough, Alex had best to keep his rear guarded... Nothing is more lethal than pissed SAS soldiers, after all. Isn't it ?

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><p><strong>A.N. : And that's the end of chapter 11. Hope you've enjoyed it. It was somewhat a bit more difficult to write this still, as I had to grasp any minute of free time I had (mostly when eating at the pub, or for example while waiting for the beginning of the game or at the half-time of Chelsea FC – Stoke City last Sunday - let me tell you, this match was not for people with heart problems, as it was tense till the end, a score of 0-0 but gosh what a game, two times on the lathe, two on the posts, that keeper from Stoke that made international class saves against Drogba, Malouda or Mikel... A Hell of a game, and also what a Roar from the fans gathered there (we were more than a hundred in that "small" pub in Fulham Broadway...) But tomorrow I'll be back home in Belgium (Sob... I'll definitely miss London !) and will be ready to get back to work ! But still, <strong>I really enjoyed writing those pranks played on Alex and K-Unit. I really had a blast at it, mostly with the muddy one where I was doubled over in laughter imagining Wolf's and Alex's faces ! <strong>  
><strong>

**In the next chapter, war will get closer. The Task Force arrives and our heroes will start their qualifications aboard the HMS Independence.**

**Finally, I would like to remind you again of the Poll about how you'd like Alex and Blunt to meet again in this story. Just choose one of the five options and reply via my Profile or by adding your choice to your review.**

_**Alex finally faces Blunt after the war, visiting him in prison where he's as a POW before being sent back to England for trial for high treason**_

_**They face each other during the final stages of the reconquest of the Falklands, and Alex captures him. **_

_**They face each other during the final stages of the reconquest of the Falklands, and Alex kills him in self defence.**_

_**They face each other as Alex leads a SAS mission from the refitted HMS Invincible, and Blunt is killed by Alex and K-Unit as they fight each other near Mount Pleasant,**_

_**They face each other as Alex leads a SAS mission from the refitted HMS Invincible, and Blunt is captured by Alex and K-Unit near Mount Pleasant (extraction by Tom's Sea-King) **_

**Oh, and by the way, please, do not forget to review. It'll make me extremely happy, and you know what they say : A happy writer will write faster than a moping one, right ?**

**Your writer, Eric J. Alderson**

**Liege, Belgium.**


	13. Chapter 12 : First Carrier Landing

**Author Notes : Finally, I wrapped up that chapter. It took me some time, but between the trip back home under the storm with floodings not far from home, working on the documents I copied there (mostly mission reports and operation record books from WWII squadrons), I had not so much time to write. But still, I found bits of time here and there to write you this chapter.**

**Here, we see the first carrier landing of Alex, and again some good jokes (starting with a prank on Alex by K-Unit...). Also, there are hints to cartoons and movies I liked (for example, Daffy Duck, and the movie "Iron Eagle"). I hope you'll find them and enjoy them.**

**And for the anthem at the end of the chapter, the "Highland Cathedral", the Scots will immediately recognize it. The melody is by Ulrich Roever and Michael Korb, and the lyrics by Terry Mechan.**

**Thus, here we go for the disclaimer :  
><strong>**I do not own Alex Rider. He's property of Anthony Horrowitz. Only the OC's and the plot are mine !**

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><p><strong>Chapter 12 : First Carrier Landing.<strong>

After the low-level trick he played on K-Unit, Alex avoided them like the plague for the next few days. But not a minute could he have thought that their payback would come so swiftly.

That day, he was sitting in the Mess hall, sipping a nice hot black tea while browsing through the last edition of the London Times, when a weird sound came from the hall. At first, Alex of course dismissed it as some other pilot's mobile phone ringing, but when it happened trice in the next five minutes, his old spy habits kicked in and, becoming quite curious about it, he got up to investigate the source of that weird squeaking sound…

As he opened the door, the sound got louder and more defined. And indeed came again that weird duck-like squeak from the hall. But as soon as he crossed the threshold to investigate further that sound, a blast of ice cold water hit him square in the face and down he went on his bum. His eyes wide, mouth wide open, but no sound coming out of it, he was utterly shocked by the ordeal. Then, after a few seconds needed to get out of the shock, he litteraly exploded in a righteous fury…

"_Tom, I swear, if I ever catch you, you're gonna pay for this !", _he shouted at the top of his lungs while getting up…

"_Hey, little cubby-cub-duckling… That's what ya' get for pullin' tha' little low flyin'prank of yours ! Payback is a bitch, ain't it ?"_ then yelled Wolf from the other end of the hall where he stood, water hose in hand, as Eagle manned the lever, Fox the camera and both Snake and Bear were doubled over in laughter.

"_You !",_ cringed Alex, _"Wolf, I swear that you'll pay big time for that ! Even if I have to go down to Hell and back to get you, but I swear you'll pay !"_

"_Ha ! Little Cubby-Duck's all goin' Ninja on us ?"_, answered Wolf between two fits of laughter.

"_You… You… You're Despickable !"_, then stuttered Alex in a perfect imitation of Daffy Duck… before he started to run towards K-unit.

But he was soaking wet, as was the ground, and forgetting it was both his and K-Unit downfall as he slipped and glided towards them like a missile, felling them in pure "Bowling" style in a perfect "Strike". As soon as both of them recovered from the fall, they both doubled over in laughter, even Alex who had somewhat gotten even without even thinking about it.

An hour later, after he showered and changed for a clean uniform dress, he joined Jim and Richard in the briefing room with Jerry and all the pilots from squadrons 617 and 14 who had yet to qualify on the brand new aircraft carrier. A former phantom pilot then came in to instillate them his experience on carrier-based operations on CatBar aircraft carriers. Soon they were rehearsing all the manoeuvres again and again to perform them smoothly and authomatically when they'll be aboard the HMS Independence.

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><p><em>Two days later, HMS Independence, 500 miles north of Ascension<em>

"_Sir, the OPS room signals that the two squadrons from Wideawake are approaching us. They're 50 miles south of us, ETA 5 minutes."_

"_All right. Right full rudder, let her take the wind ! Increase speed to 30 knots and get ready for landing operations !"_

"_Aye, Captain ! Right full rudder, coming to the wind, vector two nine zero. Full speed ahead to thirty knots, Aye !"_

"_Perfect…", _said Captain Garreth, the Independence's Skipper. Then, on the deck sound system,_ "All hands on deck, get ready for landing operations. Twenty-four, repeat twenty-four Typhoon aircrafts inbound for Carrier qualifications !"_

In the next 30 seconds, a well organized ballet took place on the Independence's deck as the crew, mostly Royal Navy's personnel overseen by their US Navy instructors, started to run all over the place getting ready to retrieve the inbound aircrafts. As they were checking the arresting wires, down in the ship the Engine's crew manned the boilers that were going at full power, providing the maximum power available to propel the ship at her maximum speed.

Soon enough, the crew on the deck heard the telltale whistling of jet engines in the distance. Seconds later, a group of 24 Typhoons FGR-4's crossed over the ship in a perfect double arrow formation.

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><p><em>Typhoon Blue One, Squadron 617, South Pacific Ocean…<em>

"_Typhoon Squadron for Typhoon Leader, we'll break and land by reverse order of squadrons. First 14__th__, white, green and then black, then the 617__th__, yellow, blue and Red. I'll land first to monitor your landings. Blue One, you'll take over the squadron."_

"_Blue One, Wilco, Leader !"_

They then broke the formation and James went first, landing his Typhoon like a pro on the refitted US carrier. Soon enough, he was on the gallery with the Captain and the Fleet Commander, watching the landings of the other pilots.

Aboard his fighter, circling above the carrier, Alex was also monitoring the operations. Hearing that Yellow Two, a young pilot with little experience on the Typhoon, had gotten a wave-off call again on his second attempt, nearly crashing his aircraft on the deck, he called him back.

"_Yellow Two for Leader, rejoin formation. You'll land before me and I'll guide you."_

"_Wilco, Leader !"_

"_Mother Goose"_, then called Alex, _"Typhoon Leader calling. I'm near Bingo, as is Yellow Two. Could you send the tanker up here ?"_

"_Copy that, Typhoon Leader. Tanker's goin' up in five. Callsign Nanny One, Over"_

"_Roger, Mother Goose. Typhoon Leader, Out !"_

Then, still monitoring the landings of the rest of his squadron, Alex called Yellow two back.

"_Yellow Two, Leader, we'll refuel in twenty, then I'll guide you trough the approach. All you'll have to do is to stick on my wing till you're on final, understood ?"_

"_Loud and clear, Leader. Thanks for that, I don't know how I always missed my final approach… I was always fine at Wideawake…"_

"_Yeah, but you've never expected the runway to dance the samba on the waves, isn't it ? Just focus on your ILS and on the Meatball and it'll be fine."_

"_I'll do that. Thanks, Leader."_

"_You're welcome, chap !"_

* * *

><p><em>HMS Independence, Bridge's gallery<em>

"_Tell me, Alexander, who is that pilot who's helping Yellow Two ? He seems quite confident !"_, asked rear Admiral Tolland.

"_It's Flight Lieutenant Jonathan McKittrick. He was number two in Flight 1435 in Mount Pleasant."_

"_Wait… Isn't he the one who shot down five SEM in combat single-handedly while covering for the evacuation of Stanley's airfield ?"_

"_He's the one and only, aye… He's seven kills on his belt, and he's also quite the talented fighter on the ground too."_

"_Well, we'll see how he's handling this."_

"_I'm confident he'll do fine, Sir. I've trained him. I know he's up to the task !"_

At that time, Red two had finally landed, a "two average". James then called Alex on a handheld transmitter.

"_Spyboy ? Jimmy here. The deck is all yours. Make him try twice, and if he's still out of it then, head back with him to Wideawake. Got it ?"_

"_Copy that, Jim, but I'll get him on the deck at the first try, don't worry !"_

"_Yeah. Don't be so overconfident, kid !"_

"_Wanna bet somethin' ? Dinner for my family on you ?"_

"_Deal, and if you loowe, you'll pay dinner to all the squadron !"_

"_Deal. Oh, by the way, get your wallet ready… and don't call me kid, baby boy !"_

Hearing that, James went red as both Captain Garreth and Rear Admiral Tolland doubled over in laughter.

"_Spyboy…"_, called Jim back when he had gotten ofer the shock of being called 'baby boy', _"I really start not liking you !"_

"_Ha Ha Ha !"_, Alex answered, throwing the two seniors officers in another round of laughter…

* * *

><p><em>Typhoon Leader, ten thousand feet above the South Atlantic.<em>

"_OK, Yellow Two. Now you're Typhoon Two. We'll refuel, you go first, I'll go second."_

"_Wilco, Leader."_, then calling the tanker, _"Nanny One, Typhoon Two calling, I'm engaging !"_

"_Copy that, Typhoon Two. I'm all yours, babe !"_

"_Roger that. And don't call me babe or I'll call you Pepe the pew !"_, answered the young pilot as Alex doubled over in laughter in the cockpit of his fighter at his wingman's antics. Then, as he had his refueling boom locked on the basket, _"Nanny One, Typhoon Two locked and ready for transfer. By the way, do you do the windshields or is it a… Self Service ?"_, he then called back mockingly, throwing Alex in another fit of laughter.

"_Oohhh, youth's innocence's quite overrated nowadays !"_, answered Nanny One as Alex's booming laugh could be heard on the frequency…

About five minutes later, two having refueled, he called the tanker again.

"_Typhoon Two, tanks full, disengaging !"_

"_Roger that. Typhoon One, you're clear to engage !"_

"_Copy, Nanny One, Typhoon One comin' in !"_

Alex also locked onto the basket and filled his tanks and, five minutes later, he was ready to try and help his wingman land on the carrier.

"_Typhoon One, tanks full, disengaging !"_

"_Roger, Typhoon One. Have a nice day, and thanks for using Nanny Oil Services !"_, joked the tanker's broom operator.

"_Hey, Nanny"_, then called back Typhoon Two, _"don't forget the stamps on our card, ok ? I wanna that stuffed tiger of yours !"_

"_Grooaaaarrrrr"_, was the only answer from Nanny One as both Alex laughed his butt off at his wingman's antics…

"_Okay, Two"_, then called Alex, _"Let see if you can land this birdie as well as you can crack jokes, will ya ?"_

_"Roger that, Leader. Goin' down to level two, vector 275 !"_

_"OK, I'm with you, Kid !"_

As they descended to two hundred feet to start their approach, Alex saw again the carrier. He called his wingman.

"_Okay, Two. I'll take the lead from here. Just stick to my wing till I tell you you're on your own. Concentrate only on your formation flying. When I'll call you again, you'll then concentrate only on the meatball and on your instruments. Don't bother with the position of the deck. If you're right on the ILS and the Meatball and have the green light from the LSO then you're fine !"_

"_Aye, Leader. Thanks. I'm taking the trail !"_

Alex then started to approach the carrier from two thousand feet and fifteen miles away, always keeping slightly on the left of the perfect slope on the ILS, putting his young wingman in the groove.

"_Okay, Two. We'll start our approach here. Just stay close to me, do as I tell you and stick to your formation flying. Maintain your speed to 250 knots for now, and try not to go faster. You'll compensate by your plane's attitude and using the airbrakes and flaps, ok ?"_

"_Will do, leader !"_

* * *

><p><em>HMS Independence's Bridge gallery<em>

"_Here they start their approach… See how he's a bit out on the groove to the left ?"_

"_Yeah"_, answered Tolland, _"He's throwing himself just a bit offline to put his wingman in the groove. That's really something…"_

"_Wow… Look at that close formation flying. You'd think he's going to land in close formation with his number two…"_, added Captain Garreth

"_I know… He's quite a fast learner, Spyboy. He got a three at his first try on the ground back in Wideawake, and he's even getting better…"_, answered James. _"Quite the sight, nay ?"_

Then, on the handheld radio, they again heard Alex's voice.

"_Two, you got the meatball ?"_

"_Yea ! Two, got the meatball, I'm on the slope !"_

"_OK, two. Just stay on that angle and speed. You're doing just fine !"_

"_Wilco !"_

The planes continued their close formation approach on the carrier. Suddenly, Alex's fighter swerved to the left, coming on the left wing of his wingman.

"_Two, One is out. You're on your own now. Call the meatball as soon as you get it, and remember what I said. Focus only on the meatball and your instruments."_

"_Will do, Leader."_, then calling the LSO, _"Mother Goose, Typhoon Two, meatball centered !"_

"_Roger, Yellow Two"_, answered the LSO, a USN former pilot who served on the Kennedy and the Nimitz, _"You're on the groove."_

"_Copy, Mother goose"_

In the next thirty seconds, the Typhoon maintained its course and hit the deck in a perfect "wire three".

"_Wow… That's quite impressive"_, said Captain Garreth.

"_Indeed… A wire three, not bad at all"_, added Rear Admiral Tolland.

"_Yeah… But just wait till you see Spyboy landing"_, concluded James.

* * *

><p><em>Typhoon One, on final approach<em>

"Typhoon Leader, calling the meatball !"

"Roger, Typhoon Leader. You're right on the groove. Call on final !"

"Copy that !"

Alex continued his descent towards the deck of the Independence, his eyes going back and forth from his HUD to the meatball and the carrier deck. All was fine. He was on the correct slope and the deck looked stable enough. At fire hundred feet and two miles from the carrier, he called again.

"Typhoon Leader, two miles, calling the meatball !"

"Roger, Typhoon Leader, cleared to land !"

"Copy"

Only seconds later, but that seemed minutes to him, Alex's Typhoon landed on the Independence's deck. As the hook caught the third arresting wire, the fighter stopped quite abruptly. He pushed the throttle to full military power for two seconds, just in case, then eased it back to Idle. He was finally aboard.

As the deck officer motionned him to start to roll, he retracted the hook and eased the throttle a bit forward, rolling on the deck to the lift number two where the crew had motioned him to roll. As soon as he was on it, he put on the parking brakes and shut off the engines, performing all the shut off operations before opening the canopy. He then swiftly got out of the aircraft, only to be welcomed by all his squadron mates and the CO of the Carrier as, in honor of the squadron's home and his Leader's origins, the speakers blared the "Highland Cathedral" performed by the Coldstream Guards Band as both the pilots sang the lyrics they knew by heart !

_**There is a Land, far from this distant shore,  
><strong>__**Where heather grows and Highland Eagles soar  
><strong>__**There is a Land that will live ever more,  
><strong>_**_Deep in my Heart, my Bonnie Scotland…_**

_**Though I serve so far away,  
><strong>__**I still see your streams, cities and dreams  
><strong>__**I can't wait until the day  
><strong>__**When I'll come Home once more**_

_**So Lord Keep me from the harm of War  
><strong>__**Through all its dangers and the battle's roar  
><strong>__**Keep me safe until I'm Home once more  
><strong>__**Home to my own in Bonnie Scotland**_

* * *

><p><strong>AN : That's a wrap for chapter 12. Hope you'll like it. <strong>

**In the next one, you'll see the fleet arrive in Ascension, and the last days Alex will spend with his family before he set sail on the Independence towards the Falklands. **

**Also, do not forget my Poll about the way you want Alex to meet again with Alan Blunt. Just get on my profile to have the link and answer the poll. It'll be closed when next chapter comes in (I'd say in about three to four weeks), so don't wait to long to give your opinion on this.**

**To conclude, a few technical notes. ETA means "Estimated Time of Arrival" and LSO "Landing Support Officer" (nicknamed "Batman" before the introduction of the landing optical mirror, when a man was posted on the edge of the deck with two rackets to guide pilots in their landing). **

**And a last note : I really love this tune, Highland Cathedral, and couldn't miss the opportunity to put it in this story. I suggest you search on Youtube for this title performed by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. It's amazing. I'll also introduce later other songs and tunes I really like as "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind" (Parry), Abide with Me, and my favorite : "Eternal Father Strong to Save"... **

**So, till next time !**

**Your writer, Eric J. Alderson.**


	14. Chapter 13 : Task Force Camelot

**AN : Finally, I'm back with a new chapter. It took me way longer than I expected, and I'm awfully sorry about the long time you've got to wait for this update.**

**In this chapter, we're definitely back to some action with the Carrier Qualifications. It's the last one before things become more "heated" with the Task Force setting sail for the Falklands, and the operations going on full force for the retaking of the Islands.**

**Also, in this chapter, our best enemy is finally back. Yes, even if it's a small appearance, Blunt is back, and he'll be definitely more present in the next chapters.**

**You'll understand also that with a name as "Excalibur", the code names had to be referenced to the King Arthur saga. So comes the Task Force "Camelot", but also operations and fleets will have their own names, as for example "Lancelot", "Galahad", "Gawain", "Perceval", "Merlin", etc... **

**But enough chit-chat, here we go with the disclaimer : I do not own AR, it's still Anthony Horrowitz's. The plot and the OC's, though, are mine.**

**PS : Corrected for the little mix-up in styles in the first paragraphs of the chapter... Sorry about that !  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13 : Task Force Camelot<strong>

_HMS Independence, 250 miles north of Ascension Island…_

They had barely completed their qualifications that the weather decided to close in on them. A storm was coming from the West, and they had no other choice but to face it… Alas, they still had Yellow section's four aircrafts airborne and it was getting more difficult every passing minute to get them back safely. As, on the request of James, Alex was again acting CO of 617th squadron, he was in charge of the exercises and, of course, he recalled them as soon as he had gotten the storm warning. But as Yellow three was landing not to academically – still a number three yet, but he shortened his approach to the maximum – Alex heard a call all navy man hope never to hear…

"_Mother Goose, Typhoon Yellow Four, Mayday Mayday ! I've been struck by lightning. All instruments are off, only have minimal attitude and fuel gauge displays.I'm on emergency power, but I don't know how long I'll be able to handle this bird…"_

"_Good Lord !", _uttered the controller in the OPS Room.

"_Tell him to hold position", _Alex told him_, "I'm going up and will bring him back home. Meanwhile, bring back yellow One and Two, and prepare for a barrier landing."_

"_Aye, Sir !", _he answered as he already crossed the doorway, rushing out towards the deck.

As soon as he arrived there, the crew was already preparing his typhoon for an emergency take-off.

"_She'll be ready in five minutes, Sir. We're going as fast as we can."_

"_That's all fine, guys. There's a lad out there whose life depends on us, so let's do it, OK ?"_

"_Aye, Sir !"_

Meanwhile, the two other Typhoons were landing, the last nearly missing his approach as the weather deteriorating more each passing minute. That's when James came by his friend…

"_Hey, Spyboy, I called Wideawake. They're QGO**(1)**, the weather there is even worse than here. Either you bring him down or you're in for a long dip…"_

"_Don't worry, Jim ! I'll bring him back. I've seen worse than that, so that's not a small little storm that'll get me shit scared !"_

"_May god hear you, old chap !", _he concluded… And as Alex was proceeding to my checks and put the radio on, he heard, broadcast by the ship's radio, this old seaman's prayer…

_**Eternal Father, Strong to save**_

_**Whose arm hath boud the restless Wave,**_

_**Who bidd'st the mighty Ocean Deep**_

_**It's own appointed limits keep;**_

_**Oh, hear Us when we cry to Thee,**_

_**For those in peril on the Seas !**_

* * *

><p><em>Wideawake RAF Station, Ascension Island<em>

The weather was really bad, with showers and strong winds coming from the West. Sabina, seated in her living room, was awfully worried about Alex who was at sea. "I really hope he's safe", she thought and, out of her childhood, she remembered an old prayer song she then started to softly sing…

"_Abide with me, fast falls the event…"_

"_What are your singing, Sabina ?", _called Jack from the kitchen's door…

"_An old prayer song I know well…"_

"_Worried about Alex, are you ?"_

"_Yeah… Every second…"_

"_I know, I feel the same about Richard. I really hope they're safe… You want to sing it with me ?"_

"_Why not", _answered Sabina. She then moved to the piano sitting in the corner of the living, and started to play as she sang with Jack.

_**Abide with me, fast falls the eventide ;**_

_**The darkness deepens ; Lord, with me Abide**_

_**When other helpers fail and comforts flee,**_

_**Help of the helpless ; Oh, Abide with me !**_

* * *

><p><em>HMS Independence, entering the stormy weather<em>

"_Damn, it's even getting worse", _whined James Alexander from his station as CAG**(2)** on the bridge…

"_Oh, that's nothing, you know… Wait till you've battled against a Typhoon in the Pacific and you'll see that it's just a small gust of wind…", _answered Rear Admiral Tolland.

"_Yeah… Ah, Typhoon One is ready for Take-Off, I see…"_

"_All right. Helm, bring her headwind, steer right to two eight zero, full speed ahead !"_

"_Aye, Sir ! Steering headwind to two eight zero, full speed ahead !"_

* * *

><p><em>Typhoon One, Catapult n° 2<em>

"_Roger that, Deck. Typhoon One going full afterburner !", _called Alex, pushing the throttle to full afterburner, the nose of his aircraft lowering a bit…

"_OK, Typhoon One. You're clear for take-off."_

"_Copy. Ready to take-off !", _he answered, saluting the rampant before rearing his head on the headrest in anticipation of the sudden acceleration.

"_Wilco, Typhoon One. Launch !", _called the yellow shirt while turning sideways crouching, his right arm stretched forward, hand on the deck…

At this signal, the Catapult Officer released Cat n°2's steam valve and the fighter was launched in the air, going from idle to 140 mph in a matter of seconds…

"_Typhoon One is airborne", _called Alex two seconds after his aircraft had left the deck._ "Gear Up, climbing to level Ten. Could you give me a vector to Yellow Four ?"_

"_Aye, Typhoon One. Yellow four is 30 clicks north of your position, bearing 030, level twelve. Head to zero one five, and proceed to level twelve !"_

"_Roger and Wilco, Mother Goose !"_

Three minutes later, he had a visual on the wounded aircraft and called the pilot.

"_Yellow Four, this is Typhoon One. I'm closing in on you from your twelve O'clock. As soon as I'll have joined you, just stay in formation. I'll bring you down to the carrier safe, Kid !"_

"_Aye, Sir… I still have no avionics, only back-up instrumentation. It seems that the storm shorted all the electrical circuits…"_

"_OK, Kid. I'll make an offset approach to put you on the groove. You'll just have to stick close to me to be right on the slope. You'll just be on your own for the final three miles, as soon as you'll have a visual on the carrier."_

"_Will do, Sir !"_

"_OK. I'm goin' ahead, just follow me."_

They then entered the clouds, going down south to level one, heading back towards the carrier.

"_Typhoon One for Mother Goose, Status ?", _called two minutes later the controller in the Ops Room aboard the Independence.

"_Got yellow 4 in tow, bringing him home."_

"_Al, the weather is quite rough down here", _then cut Jim Alexander from his station on the bridge,_ "how long can you stay airborne ?"_

"_An hour at the maximum, but about Yellow four I'm not sure… perhaps 20 minutes ? He has no electronics nor instruments, total shortage… He must have been hit by lightning…"_

"_OK. We'll bring you down here. The barrier is already up for him, but it'll take at least twenty to thirty minutes to clean the deck after he's landed…"_

"_Don't worry about me, Jim, I'll be OK !"_

"_I really hope so, or both Jack and Sabina will both kill me…"_

Meanwhile, on the deck, the crew was ready to receive the fighter. The barrier was up, and the fire-fighters patiently waiting near their equipment, ready to rush to the incoming aircraft should need arise.

"_OK",_ shouted the deck senior officer, _"Everybody out of there to the safe areas, we got a blind guy inbound !"_

True enough, they soon heard the whining of the jet engines at full power as the two Typhoon flew over the carrier from the north and turned west to start their landing approach…

"_Okay, Yellow Four. Now we'll turn slowly to the right. Just stick to me, right ?"_

"_Aye, Leader !"_

They then turned, getting away from the carrier…

"_OK",_ called Alex again, only twenty seconds later, _"We'll make it a short approach. We'll turn 180 degrees sharp to the right. You follow, then as I level you just stick to my right wing. I'll get you on the groove. When I'll call "Meatball left", just focus on the deck and on the meatball, you should normally be all right. Understood ?"_

"_Loud and clear, Leader. I'll be on my own as soon as you call the meatball."_

"_Perfect. Turning right on my mark… Mark !" _

Alex then banked to the right and pulled hard on the stick, turning back to the Independence. He tried to keep his Typhoon a bit on the left of the perfect slope, and as he checked on his right he saw Yellow four sticking on his right wing like glue. Soon, they were 500 yards from the landing deck, and Alex called his 'wingman' before breaking formation.

"_Typhoon One, Meatball slight left. You're right on, Yellow Four !"_

"_Yellow Four, Meatball",_ then called the young pilot.

Alex then skidded a few yards to the left and levelled his flight as the other Typhoon was closing in fast. His hook non operation, he was to be stopped by the barrier, but still he came in way too fast.

"_Yellow Four, drop full flaps and brakes, you're too fast !"_

"_Flaps down full, but brakes not responding. Damn, Flame Out ! I'm out of fuel !"_

"_Stay on the slope, kid… Okay, now you're slowing a bit… Green light !"_, then called the LSO.

And as Alex's aircraft zoomed on the left of the carrier, Yellow four hit the deck hard. His nose wheel, not resisting the hard landing, collapsed as the Typhoon reached the barrier.

"_Crash on the flight deck",_ called the LSO before the call was repeated by Jim who was on his station on the Bridge.

In seconds, the fire crew rushed to the aircraft, hoses at the ready, and started to pour carbonic foam on the wounded fighter. They quickly opened the cockpit and got the quite shocked pilot out on a stretcher, rushing him to the Island and the inboard medical facilities for a thorough check-up.

Above, circling in his Typhoon, Alex had seen the "drama" unfolding itself and hoped the kid was OK. Soon enough, he heard the carrier calling him on the radio.

"_Typhoon One, Mother Goose. We expect the deck to be ready for you in twenty minutes !"_

"_Copy that, Mother Goose. How's the kiddo by the way ?"_

"_He's OK, just a mild concussion, he's checked out at the infirmary right now."_

"_roger that. I still have for 35 minutes of fuel left, plus the ten minutes reserve. What's the weather forecast ?"_

"_Well, still the same, and there's worse coming from the west…"_

* * *

><p><em>At the same time in Port Stanley, West Falkland Island…<em>

Blunt was furious, sheer anger boiling in his veins after reading the message he was sent from the heads of Scorpia. He was to find all he could about Rider, and this by all means necessary… and this message, to top it all, was two weeks old ! Someone in the Argentinian HQ had not done his job or, even worse, sabotaged it !

He called both the transmission officer and Coronel Balbo, commanding officer of the Argentinian troops in Stanley to his office, intending to give them a well deserved lecture about security. As soon as they had entered, the door closing on them, he shoved the message under their noses, fuming !

"_This message, sent by your services twelve days ago from the mainland, only arrived today on my deck, and by sheer accident… Care to explain me how this could have happened ?"_

"_Senhor"_, answered the transmission officer, _"I never saw this message in my decoder room… And only myself and two other people have the clearance to decode such message…"_

"_Then, we have a traitor in our midst. I suggest you to check thoroughly your crew's whereabouts for the last three weeks. If this was extracted of your transmissions, then only god knows what other piece of information is missing, or even worse has been passed to the enemy !"_

"_I'll proceed to a full check, Senhor Blunt"_, answered Balbo. _"We'll find your spy, be sure of it". _

But what none of them knew was that said spy was also in the room…

* * *

><p><em>HMS Independence, 20 minutes later…<em>

"_Mother Goose to Typhoon One, deck free. You're clear to land", _called the LSO.

"_Roger, Mother Goose. Get your guys ready, I'm comin' in hot !"_

"_Roger that, Spyboy. Look out on final approach, the deck…", _started James Alexander, before he was cut by his friend…

"_I know, the deck's quite rocky and slippery… Don't worry too much, Old Chap !", _answered Alex to his old friend and then, to the LSO,_ "Typhoon One, Meatball !"_

"_OK, Typhoon One, On the slope, a bit high though…", answered the LSO._

"_Copy. I'll stay like that. I'd rather not risk a face-plant…"_

"_Roger Typhoon One !"_

Alex continued on his flight line, rain pelting continuously and full force on his canopy.

"_OK, Mother Goose, four miles, level point five, speed two thirty."_

"_Roger. You're still a bit too high. Drop a bit the nose and reduce speed."_

"_Will do, Mother Goose"._

The typhoon flew straight on the perfect slope from this point and, at one mile, he had the meatball centred.

"_Typhoon One, one mile, Meatball !"_

"_You're clear to land, Typhoon One. Keep heading and rate of descent, you're on the groove !"_

"_Aye… Get ready, boys… Here I come !"_

The Typhon then emerged from the darkness and his wheels hit the deck hard, the hook grasping the third arresting wire, abruptly stopping the aircraft… Both the LSO and Jim were shocked… but not as much as Alex… Catching the number three in the heat of a storm at the first try is considered the trademark of the best naval pilots… Only a second later, Alex pulled the throttle to idle, retracted the hook and put on the parking brakes before calling again on the radio.

"_Typhoon One on the deck. Do I park this bird here or does it goes below deck ?"_

"_Cut your engines, Typhoon One. We're towing you to the main elevator, and you'll get out in the main hangar. It's quite pouring out here…"_

"_Thanks, Mother Goose, I was quite afraid of getting a cold shower over here…", _he answered,_ "but hurry still, the only thing missing in those aircrafts are some toilets…"_

"_Hey, never heard of diapers ?", _cut in James from the deck.

"_Jiiiiim…", _groaned Alex_, "If you want some muddy pictures released, just continue on that way."_

"_Ok, Ok, we'll hurry", _he then answered in a wavery voice…

"_That's what I thought", _cockily concluded Alex…

* * *

><p><strong>AN 1 : Notes<strong>

**(1) : QGO : Expression meaning that said airfield is closed due to the weather conditions (referring to the expression **

**(2) CAG :Carrier Air Group, by extension name given to the commanding officer of the Carrier Air Group, (pronounced to rhyme with Rag)  
><strong>

**_For more on the aviation glossary, visit the website of the PAFT (Princeton Airport Flying Tigers). There is a glossary there, and also the funny "quotes" (my favourite being : **Mankind has a perfect record in aviation; we never left one up there !**)_  
><strong>

**Songs : **

**Eternal Father strong to save (Navy Hymn): Text written in 1860 by William Whiting (originally a Poem), music composed in 1861 by John B. Dykes.**

**Abide with me : Text written in 1847 by Henry Francis Lyte, tune "Eventide" written by William Henry Monk in 1861.**

* * *

><p><strong>AN 2 : Well, that's it for chapter 13 : Task Force "Camelot". I integrated two songs I like very much, the Navy Hymn and the song "Abide with Me". Also, I tried to describe as correctly how a pilot lands an aircraft on the deck of an aircraft carrier. I've done this lots of times on my combat flight simulators (Jet Fighter 4, FA 18 Super Hornet, etc.) but still it's nothing compared to the real thing... **

**Also, I'm closing the Poll about how Alex will meet Blunt again... As three options were chosen equally, I'll opt for one of those three I feel would be best for the story : They face each other during the final stages of the reconquest of the Falklands, as Alex captures him. **

**Voila. Next chapter will come later next month, as I'm quite busy between work, exhibitions where I'm attending (making demonstrations of modelling techniques) and my researches for Wings of Glory. There will be the first strike back on the Falkland's based Argentinian troops, and also more about our favourite foe, aka Alan Blunt.**

**So see you next time for chapter 14 : Operation "Excalibur"**


	15. Chapter 14 : Operation Excalibur

**A.N. : Good Lord in Heavens... I never took that long to post a new chapter... I'd like to apologise to all my readers for this, but please understand that between my schedule at work, the exhibitions I had to attend, and also my work as a professional modeller, I had little time remaining to write the chapter (I wrote it mostly while commuting from home to work, on a train compartment's table) and even more to edit and correct it. **

**Add to that that it's one of the most difficult chapters I had to write until now (and the next one will be even more difficult, dealing with the feelings one can feel when one has lost one of his or her loved ones to a war), it was bound to take time. **

**Hopefully now that the exhibition season had ended, I'll have more time to write so the next chapters should arrive faster than this last one.**

**In this chapter, we'll see the first retaliation against the Argentinian troops in the Falklands... So get ready for some «dogfight» around there... But that's enough chit-chat, let's go on with the story... **

**Disclaimer : I do not Own Alex Rider, it's still property of Anthony Horrowitz. Only the OC and the plot are mine, of course !**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 14 : Operation «Excalibur»<strong>

_Wideawake RAF Station, a week later..._

After his ordeal with Yellow Four, Alex spent the next few days in his quarters, pestering about that bad weather that was locking his aircraft down below deck. He landed back at Ascension as the weather was just improving, enabling him to fly back to the station rather than suffering the humiliation of a sea and land transfer.

He was enjoying a quiet afternoon in the sofa, watching the television beside his wife, when his cell phone rang. At the tune he heard, the «Squadron», he knew this was an official call from the HQ.

«Flight Lt McKittrick ?»

«Al, this is Jim. We're called back at the station the day after tomorrow for an operational briefing. So, I set the squadron free tomorrow, and we'll be at readiness from Wednesday morning...»

«Roger, Jim. What about a walk and then a diner together for tomorrow afternoon, then ? You, Ritchie, Tom and his fiancee, Jack and Sab...»

«All right, old chum. I'll be there by two with Rich'»

«Brilliant. See you tomorrow then, Jim !»

Sabina then turned to him.

«You think... ?»

«Aye, Sab. Now that the fleet's here, we know it won't be long till it's time for us to strike them back... Sure the briefing is about the fleet's operational deployment, but not a word about that out of here, ok ? The Argies may have spies over here, even more as they have Scorpia backing them...»

«I'll be careful, Honey, I promise !»

«Fine. Now, what about a nice hot cup of tea with some of those cookies Jack made yesterday ?»

* * *

><p><em>RAF Wideawake Briefing Room, two days later...<em>

All personnel from both 617th and 14th squadrons were assembled in the small room, waiting for the briefing to start. James was on stage with both Richard and Alex, but amazingly the station's CO was late. He strode in the room two minutes later, climbing immediately the four steps leading to the squadron's CO's.

«Sorry to be late, gentlemen, but I preferred to wait for the last intelligence before starting the briefing. This won't be a common mission as the «Black Buck» were 30 years ago as you'll operate from both ground and sea. The mission will be codenamed «Operation Excalibur». Its objectives are the runways in both Stanley and Mount Pleasant. Jim will lead the 617th squadron, Richard the 14th, and McKittrick here will be leading the Wing as acting Wing Co.

«Huh ?», both uttered Richard and the other pilots, while James just let a small knowing smile grace his features...

«Yes. McKittrick's here served in Mount Pleasant for six months and know both airfields and the Island very well. He'll lead you on the bombing runs over there. Also, as he was the last one to stand against the aggressor back then, it's only justice that he'll lead the first retaliation strike against them !»

«Yeah», uttered some of the pilots...

«OK. After the 14th had bombed the radars and runway in Stanley, they'll act as CAP for the 617th on their bombing run on Mt Pleasant's runways. 617th will act as CAP until then.»

«What did you meant by operating from both ground and sea, Sir ?», asked Richard.

«Well, your mission will start from here, but on your journey back you'll land on the Independence who set sail this morning with the fleet. We expect them to be tomorrow morning at a point about eight hundred miles south-west from here. So, you'll have a shorter flight to return, and also she'll be able to act as a refuelling station. She embarked six American built COD's converted in tankers and a squadron of Harriers. Those will be transferred on the HMS Ocean after this mission.»

«Perfect, Sir !», then said Alex, «Well Boys, let's check the map for our mid-air refuelling pattern. We'll start our mission with one external fuel tank under the fuselage, two anti-runway durandal bombs, three Brimstone missiles, two Alaarm anti-radar missiles and four AIS-120 Sidewinders missiles. We'll act both as CAP for each other, and strike the objectives. The 14th squadron's target will be Stanley. We believe they have only a few triple-A guns there and some SAM missiles. The most heavily defended target will be Mount Pleasant, 617th squadron's target, where we know for sure they have both a regiment of 3-A's, two of SAM, a squadron of Daggers and another one of Skyhawks. Also, we know for sure that the Brazilian carrier «Sao Paulo», carrying the Armada's naval squadron equipped with Super-Etendard aircrafts, will be in the area. So we can expect to see some of those on our way to Mount Pleasant and on our way back to our base.»

«Perfect, but how will we refuel ?»

«Well, thanks to our US friends, we'll use their KC-135 Extenders based here. As we do not have any Victor tankers here anymore and that the new Airbus tanker is not yet operational, they'll reinforce our fleet of four Tristar tankers. Also, the first refuelling will be performed by the COD's from the Independence. You have all the refuelling points here on this map. On stations R1 the refuelling by the COD's, on R2 to R6 refuelling by the Extenders. Our Tristars will only refuel the Extenders on their way out and back to Ascension. On R7, we'll join again with our carrier's Nannies for a last refuelling before landing on the Ascension from where we'll operate after this mission. Questions ?»

«Sir, what if we've got trouble refuelling ?»

«Well, then you'll turn back to the carrier from both R1 and R2. Later, though, I fear that there's no other option than a swim or hiding in the hills to avoid being captured...»

«OK. So, either we jump over the Isles if we're hit, or we're dead meat...», said another young pilot.

«That's true. On this, I'll let you choose on your own terms. But for myself, I'd rather try to come back than nothing...»

On those words, Alex left the stage, followed by Jim and Richard, and returned to his seat in front of his pilots.

«OK, Gentlemen», then concluded the CO, «Let's synchronize our watches. At my mark, it'll be 09:42... Mark ! Take-off in thirty minutes. Dismissed !»

* * *

><p><em>Ex-RAF Station Mount Pleasant, East Falklands...<em>

Teniente Ernesto Estrobal, a seasoned pilot in the «II de Caza» of the Fuerza Aerea Argentina who flew on Mirages and Daggers, was acting leader of the 4-aircraft section performing the QRA station in Mound Pleasant that day. He was seated in a comfortable seat (Alex's one, by the way) reading the «Gazetta» when the phone rung...

«Teniente Estrobal, Mount Pleasant QRA»

«Stanley ATC. We have detected a large formation of aircraft coming from the North-East towards us. They do not appear on our radars, but were sighted by one of our ships patrolling there. They're about 100 miles South-East of Stanley... You're ordered to intercept them asap. Other fighters will join you later from your station and the Sao Paulo.»

«Si ! We take off immediately !»

In the following minutes, the alarm horn blared in the building and the other pilots joined Estrobal. Five minutes later, the four Daggers were speeding trough the skies, heading south-east towards the arriving Typhoons.

«Aguila Lider to all Aguilas, we're the spearhead. We'll delay the enemy long enough for our friends of the II de Caza to jump those banditos. Look Out for fighters, I'm sure they don't come here without an escort...»

«Aguila Duo, copy !»

«Très, Si Teniente !»

«Quatro, Understood !»

* * *

><p><em>Typhoon Strike Package, 80 miles North-East of the Daggers...<em>

«Uh-Oh...», muttered Alex when his radar showed him four blips speeding fast towards him... «Excalibur Leader to all, four bandits coming in fast high in our twelve O'clock !Red flight, with me on the bastards. Yellow, you stay on cover. White and Black, you're on priority on the first target !»

«Red Leader, Copy that !»

«Yellow One, copy !»

« Green One, Will do !»

«White Leader, Copy loud and clear, Leader !»

Alex in front, the five Typhoon of Red Flight climbed fast and soon the RWR warning tune rung in their helmets : the enemy had detected them !

* * *

><p><em>Aguila section, 50 miles South-West...<em>

«Aguila Lider to all Aguilas, target ahead fifty miles, climbing fast... They're five of them... Look out on your radar for the rest of their formation. I'm sure they're part of the escort !»

«Aguila duo, Si Lider !»

«Tres, copy !»

«Quatro, copy Teniente !»

«Look Out, they're accelerating... Get ready to fire your missiles as soon as they're in range, and look out for enemy missiles !»

* * *

><p><em>Excalibur Red Section...<em>

«OK, They're facing us. Excalibur Red, stay close to me. All other sections, remain at zero feet, we'll drive them away from you !»

«Red Leader, Wilco !»

«Yellow Leader, Copy !»

«Green Leader, Copy !»

«White Leader, Roger that !»

«OK. Red flight, spread formation. Red leader, you go on the number two. Red Three, you're on the number three. I'll take the leader !»

«Red One, copy !»

«Two, copy»

«Red Three, Copy»

«Four, Roger-Roger»

«OK. Split formation... Now !»

The four aircraft broke then the close formation ans soon got in a wide line with each aircraft being two miles apart of the other, thus covering a front line of ten miles... Soon enough, they were close enough and their radars locked on the Argentinian fighters.

* * *

><p><em>Aguila squadron, 30 miles South-West...<em>

«Aguila Lider, Très, I have a lock...»

«Muy bien ! We're in range. Fire when ready !»

«Pauke Pauke ! Firing sparrow on number two !», then called Aguila très, Sargento Manfredo de Mantillo, great-son of a German emigrant who was pilot in the Luftwaffe during WWII !

* * *

><p><em>Excalibur Red Flight, 25 miles N-E of Stanley...<em>

«Red Flight from Leader, Fox Fox Fox, Apex inbound !»

The formation then broke in individuals, each fighter releasing clouds of Chaffs while performing high-G manoeuvres. All missiles were lured by the counter-measures and soon the Typhoons faced the threat again.

«Leader, Red Two, I got the bandits on my radar again, eighteen miles south...»

«I got them too, Red Two. OK, Red Flight, weapons free !»

«Red One, copy»

«Two»

«Three»

«Four»

«Excalibur Leader, Fox Three on the leader !»

«Red One, Fox Three on the number three !»

In less than ten seconds, five missiles had been launched on the Daggers, closing in fast on them.

* * *

><p><em>Aguila Squadron, 18 miles South...<em>

« Que... Joder ! Aguila Lider to Aguila squadron, Missiles inbound, break !»

As he started to bank right, the first of the Aamrams closed on the Argentinian leader... and exploded right behind him, destroying the tail of his fighter who started to plummet towards the sea.

«Aguila Uno, I'm hit. Mayday, Mayday !»

He then pulled the ejection lever, not knowing it had been rendered inoperative by the missile's damage to his aircraft. As he saw the sea closing in, he had a last thought for his loved ones...

«Please, do not join me too fast...»

* * *

><p><em>Excalibur squadron, 10 miles North...<em>

«Splash One !», called Alex as he saw the flash of light made by his missile impacting the Dagger.

«Red Three, Splash one too.»

«Red One to leader, I'm closing in on the number two, going for guns kill...»

«Roger, One, I'm covering you. Red two, three and four, you take the last remaining one !»

«Red two, wilco !»

«Three, Copy !»

«Four, Will do !»

Alex then flew his fighter behind and on the right of James's Typhoon, covering him against any possible enemy threat.

«OK. Visual on the bastard... Closing to guns range...»

«I'm right behind you, Jim.»

«OK... Got him... Nay... Nay... Guns guns guns !», called then James, firing a long burst of his Mauser gun on the Argentinian fighter, effectively cutting him in two like a knife in butter... «Red One, Splash one, Guns kill»

«Good Show, James.», then, as he was turning, «Red three, look out, bandit in your three O'clock coming fast !»

«'seen it, Lead. Thanks !», answered red three who was already turning to face the threat... «OK, I got the tone... Fox Two !»

The missile, like he was following a wire, flew straight to Aguila Four, the last surviving Dagger.

* * *

><p><em>Aguila Four, 30 miles North-East of Stanley.<em>

«Stanley, Aguila Quatro. The rest of the squadron has been shot down. I'm facing only five Typhoons, repeat, Five. Other must be the... Mierda... Missile Inboung... Releasing Chaffs... Joder, I can't shake it, it's... Aaahhhh...»

«Aguila Quatro, Stanley, Over !»

«...»

«Aguila from Stanley, do you copy ?»

«...»

But the controller in Port Stanley's airport could call all he wanted, nothing would ever come again from Aguila Four's aircraft as its last remains were slowly drifting in a rain of fire and debris down to theSouth Atlantic Ocean below, last resting place of what remained of Aguila squadron...

* * *

><p><em>Excalibur squadron, 15 miles N-W of Stanley...<em>

«Green leader to Excalibur Leader, we're starting our bombing run !»

«Roger that, Green Leader. Yellow Flight, you stay on rear cover. Red flight, we'll move upon high advanced cover !»

«Yellow one, copy that, Leader !»

Two minutes later, as the Typhoons from black and white flights were dropping their Durandals on Stanley's airfield, Alex sighted something on his radar...

«Leader to squadron, bogeys eighty miles north-west of us. Red and Yellow flight, you concentrate on the second target. Black and White flights follow me on the bandits !»

«Red One, copy !»

«Yellow One, Copy !»

«Green One, I'm with you, Leader !»

«White One, Will do !»

Then, as both Yellow and Red sections headed west to Mount Pleasant, I sped to the north-west, followed by the eight aircrafts of Green and White flights, closing fast on the bandits...

«Okay, Boys. This time, I think we're going to face a tough adversary. This should be their carrier-based Super Etendards, so stick to me like glue , obey my every order and hopefully we'll make it out of this alive...»

«Two»

«Three»

«Four»

«White One !»

«All right then. We'll split in a spread formation, four ''rotte'' spaced by two miles. And do not forget, we have a better firing range than them, so let's use this to our advantage and fire on them as soon as we have a lock. Now, split formation !»

* * *

><p><em>Cóndor Squadron, 60 miles N-W of Fitzroy.<em>

«Cóndor Lider to all Cóndor aircrafts, bandits 70 miles south-east of us. We lost contact with Aguila, so we can presume they were shot down by the Brits. We'll fly in «Rotte» formation, first section center, second on the flanks. As we'll face them head on, the second section will outflank them as the first section will continue to the bombers.»

This was the first call from Capitán Ibanez to his fellow pilots of the first aeronaval squadron of the Armada Argentina since they were launched from the Sao Paulo. At his command, the eight fighters split formation in two-elements groups, with the first section in the center and a rotte from the second section at each flank of the formation. Afterburner on, they closed fast on the British fighters...

* * *

><p><em>14th squadron, 25 miles N-W of Fitzroy...<em>

Alex and his wingmen were closing fast on the Argentinian fighters. His «flight» was spread on a 8 miles long line, ready to intercept any bandit coming towards them.

«Leader to Green and White flights, 4 bandits now 30 miles in our twelve. Weapons free, boys... Let's get those bastards down for the count !»

«Green One, copy that Leader»

«White One, Roger Roger !»

«Ok... Locked-On... Fox Three on the lead west center», then called Alex as he fired his third Aamram missile on the enemy leader. In only a matter of seconds, eight missiles were homing on the Argies when suddenly the spots on Alex's radar doubled... «Leader to Green and White, count now to eight bandits, four plus four, I repeat eight bandits ! Look-out for missiles !»

As the Aamrams were closing on the Argies, the Typhoons started a pattern of evasive manoeuvres while releasing Chaffs... Sure enough, the Argies had fired their missiles too. Each of them missed their target excepted one that struck Green four square in the tail, blowing the aircraft in shreds in a matter of a second... The poor guy never knew what had hit him !

«Green four is down, no chute !», called Green One.

«Green section, Leader, let's make them pay for that...»

«Green three, splash one !»

«Leader, Green two, look-out, bandit in your tail !»

«I can't shake it !», yelled Alex after a few high-G turns... «I could use a hand here !»

«Green Three is on the way, Leader !»

«Hurry-up, Laddie, it's becoming quite hot here !»

«Lead, Green three, in position... Break right... Now !»

Alex then turned sharply to the right as Green three fired an Aasram on the French built SEM.

«Green three, Fox Two on the southern bandit... Yeah, Splash one again !»

«Thanks for that one, Green Three, I owe you one !»

«You're welcome, Leader... Hey, look-out, two bandits escaping low at 3 O'clock... They're going for the bombers !»

«Green three, follow me, we'll get to them... Green one, status ?»

«I jsut got a second Argie, Guns kill... I'm chasing another bandit who turned south...»

«OK, Stay on him... Green three and myself are chasing the two going after the bombers.»

«OK, Leader !»

«Perfect. Excalibur Leader to Red and Yellow sections, two bandits heading for you, 30 miles in your north-east, closing in fast, over !»

«Red one, copy... We'll face them !»

Closing on the bombers at high speed, the Argentinian jets were not fast enough though to avoid being jumped by Alex and his wingman. As they finally came in range of Red One, is was to be taken like the iron between the hammer and the anvil, missiles fired by Both Red flight and Alex's «Rotte» closing in fast on them.

Within ten seconds, all that remained from the two Super-Etendard jets were tiny bits of metal raining down slowly to the Kelper's countryside...

Excalibur squadron then regrouped as Yellow section had successfully hit their target, but to everyone's astonishment one more Typhoon was missing.

After searching the skies around them for several long minutes, James, his soul heavy with grief, regrouped the squadron and headed back towards the refuelling point, leaving a part of himself behind : his friend Alex, somehow, had vanished without even the tiniest of a sign...

* * *

><p><strong>Technical notes : <strong>

**COD : Carrier Onboard Delivery. It's the famous «Greyhound» twin-engine aircraft used by the US Navy to carry mail, deliveries and personnel from ground to the Carrier and vice-versa. **

**Tristar : A jet liner converted by the RAF in a tanker.**

**Victor : Tanker aircraft of the RAF**

**Dagger : Mirage V modernized by Israel. It's the front line fighter of the Argentinian Air Force.**

**Rotte : German combat formation from WWII, consisting of using groups (flights) of 4 fighters grouped in pairs, or Rotte. This formation was more efficient than the British VIC formation of 3 aircrafts, as the aircrafts in a Rotte formation could always see all other aircrafts of the formation easily and that it was easier to manoeuvre in this kind of formation.**

**Pauke Pauke : It was the German equivalent of the British «Tally-Ho» in the Luftwaffe during WWII. As German veterans emigrated there after WWII and the pilot to use it has German ancestry, it was logical for him to use it...**

* * *

><p><strong>A.N. : And that's the end of chapter 14. Hope you've enjoyed it. <strong>

**In the next chapter, we'll see how Sabina will deal with the fact that Alex is MIA, and also we'll see what really happened to Alex, with more «SAS-type» action in the Falklands. Also, we'll see the comeback of our best loved «villain», AKA that dearly detestable and despickable Alan Blunt !**

**Also, Please, leave me a review. That's the only way I can see what you're thinking about this story in order to get it better. **

**Your author, Eric J. Alderson.**


	16. Chapter 15 : Behind enemy lines !

**_**IMPORTANT BEYOND YOUR BELIEFS!**_**

_content** has been found in violation of H.R. 3261 S.O.P.A. and has been removed.-**_

Every story on this site if SOPA and PIPA pass Congress. So, there's a bill in Congress called PIPA. If passed (and at this rate, they'll probably be), they would let the government basically go apeshit on internet content and censor it.

_**This means that would be completely and utterly SHUT DOWN.**_

This congressional jackassery will commence on January 24th! If you wish to preserve not only this site, but your liberty, call your state senators! I'll just leave this list of their phone numbers at the bottom.

Think, guys- is over TWO MILLION MEMBERS strong! If we all called up these guys, then there would be absolutely NO WAY THIS MALARKEY WOULD SQUEEZE THROUGH THE GOVERNMENT'S ASSCHEEKS!

Here is what to tell them (That's what I would tell Mr Obama, just change the name !) :

**"Dear Mr Obama (or Senator), would you like the public opinion both in the US and in the whole world to remember you as the US President (or Senator) who, has Hitler did in Nazi Germany back before WWII, put censure on the artists and books ? This website is a mean of expression and of practice for future young authors. By closing this, you'd exclude young artists and writers from their audiences. Remember this sentence : When a leader starts to put censure on artists, you know where it goes, right ? Right into Totalitarism and Facism"**

_**So call your senators today and tell them to vote against PIPA! We can do this! If you see this, put something in a new chapter of an existing story! Spread the word!**_

AK, Lisa Murkowski, 907-456-0233  
>AL, Jefferson Sessions, 334-244-7017<br>AL, Richard Shelby, 205-759-5047  
>AR, John Boozman, 479-725-0400<br>AR, Mark Pryor, 501-324-6336  
>AZ, Jon Kyl, 602-840-1891<br>AZ, John McCain, 602-952-2410  
>CA, Barbara Boxer, 510-286-8537<br>CA, Dianne Feinstein, 415-393-0707  
>CO, Michael Bennet, 303-455-7600<br>CT, Richard Blumenthal, 860-258-6940  
>CT, Joseph Lieberman, 860-549-8463<br>DE, Thomas Carper, 302-573-6291  
>DE, Chris Coons, 302-573-6345<br>FL, Bill Nelson, 407-872-7161  
>FL, Marco Rubio, 305-418-8553<br>GA, C. Saxby Chambliss, 770-763-9090  
>GA, John Isakson, 770-661-0999<br>HI, Daniel Akaka, 808-522-8970  
>HI, Daniel Inouye, 808-541-2542<br>IA, Charles Grassley, 515-288-1145  
>IA, Thomas Harkin, 515-284-4574<br>ID, Michael Crapo, 208-334-1776  
>ID, James Risch, 208-342-7985<br>IL, Richard Durbin, 312-353-4952  
>IL, Mark Kirk, 312-886-3506<br>IN, Daniel Coats, 317-554-0750  
>IN, Richard Lugar, 317-226-5555<br>KS, Pat Roberts, 913-451-9343  
>KY, Mitch McConnell, 502-582-6304<br>KY, Rob Portman, 361-576-1231  
>LA, Mary Landrieu, 225-389-0395<br>LA, David Vitter, 337-262-6898  
>MA, Scott Brown, 617-565-3170<br>MA, John Kerry, 617-565-8519  
>MD, Barbara Mikulski, 410-962-4510<br>ME, Susan Collins, 207-945-0417  
>ME, Olympia Snowe, 207-874-0883<br>MI, Carl Levin, 313-226-6020  
>MI, Debbie Stabenow, 517-203-1760<br>MN, Al Franken, 651-221-1016  
>MN, Amy Klobuchar, 612-727-5220<br>MO, Roy Blunt, 816-471-7141  
>MO, Claire McCaskill, 816-421-1639<br>MS, Thad Cochran, 601-965-4459  
>MS, Roger Wicker, 601-965-4644<br>MT, Max Baucus, 406-657-6790  
>MT, Jon Tester, 406-449-5401<br>NC, Richard Burr, 910-251-1058  
>NC, Kay Hagan, 336-333-5311<br>ND, Kent Conrad, 701-258-4648  
>ND, John Hoeven, 701-250-4618<br>NE, Mike Johanns, 308-632-6032  
>NE, E. Benjamin Nelson, 402-441-4600<br>NH, Kelly Ayotte, 603-622-7979  
>NH, Jeanne Shaheen, 603-647-7500<br>NJ, Frank Lautenberg, 973-639-8700  
>NJ, Robert Menendez, 973-645-3030<br>NM, Jeff Bingaman, 505-346-6601  
>NM, Tom Udall, 505-346-6791<br>NV, Dean Heller, 775-686-5770  
>NV, Harry Reid, 702-388-5020<br>NY, Kirsten Gillibrand, 212-688-6262  
>NY, Charles Schumer, 212-486-4430<br>OH, Sherrod Brown, 216-522-7272  
>OK, James Inhofe, 918-748-5111<br>OK, Tom Coburn, 918-581-7651  
>OR, Jeffery Merkley, 503-326-3386<br>PA, Robert Casey, 570-941-0930  
>PA, Pat Toomey, 610-434-1444<br>RI, John Reed, 401-943-3100  
>RI, Sheldon Whitehouse, 401-453-5294<br>SC, Jim DeMint, 864-233-5366  
>SC, Lindsey Graham, 864-250-1417<br>SD, Tim Johnson, 414-276-7282  
>SD, John Thune, 605-334-9596<br>TN, Lamar Alexander, 615-736-5129  
>TN, Bob Corker, 423-756-2757<br>TX, John Cornyn, 512-469-6034  
>TX, Kay Hutchison, 214-361-3500<br>UT, Orrin Hatch, 801-524-4380  
>UT, Mike Lee, 801-524-5933<br>VA, Mark Warner, 804-775-2314  
>VA, James Webb, 804-771-2221<br>VT, Patrick Leahy, 802-863-2525  
>VT, Bernard Sanders, 802-862-0697<br>WA, Patty Murray, 206-553-5545  
>WI, Ron Johnson, 605-332-8896<br>WI, Herbert Kohl, 414-297-4451  
>WV, Joe Manchin, 304-342-5855<br>WV, John Rockefeller, 304-347-5372  
>WY, John Barrasso, 307-261-6413<br>WY, Michael Enzi, 307-682-6268

**_THIS IS LEGIT! DO IT! SAVE THIS AMAZING PLACE!_**

**(Information found on http : / www. fanfiction. net/u/3496462/ (just remove the spaces !)  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>A.N. : Hello and a Happy New Year to you all, my faithful readers. I'm absolutely sorry about this awfully long delay, but this chapter has been the hardest I've had to write till now… And I don't count only with some "Writer's Block" I experienced earlier, but also with all the things that went from bad to worse last month… <strong>

**But do not worry, I have not forgotten you, and I will definitely continue this story till the end and write a sequel. Here come the next chapter of Codename Excalibur, titled "Behind Enemy Lines". In this chapter, we'll find again our most loved villain, aka Blunt, but I won't tell too much of the plot in fear to spoil a bit the suspense… So, time for the disclaimers and we'll go on with the story**

**I do not own Alex Rider. He's Antony Horrowit's property. Only the OC and the plot are mine…**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 15 : Behind Enemy Lines !<strong>

_Wideawake RAF Station, three days later._

Sabina was way out of tears. It had all started when the Station's CO had come to her "Home" with her parents and Jack. She had then instantly known something had happened to Alex. And yet there was still hope : they had no indication his aircraft had been shot down or that he had been killed.

But with time, everybody started to believe he had met his end, even more as there was no sign from the Argies that he had been killed or made POW. Yet, against all odds, She still had hope…

* * *

><p><em>East Falkland Island, southern flank of Wickham Heights…<em>

He was cold, tired and hungry. Three days had gone since he had to bail out of his aircraft when he had been hit by debris of one of the SEM. He tried to get as far of Mt Pleasant as he could, but in vain. After he bailed out, his Tiffie crashed on the Eastern flank of Wickham Heights. But after two days of wandering around, he finally came back near the station, stopping about three miles north of the runway's end.

His ration from his survival kit would not last long, he knew well, and he estimated he would be able to make them last for five days at a maximum. So, he had to find food somewhere, that was evident. He therefore decided to start yomping towards Fitzroy, which was 13 miles west of him. In that settlement, he'd be able to find food and perhaps some help from the Kelpers. '_After that_', he told to himself, '_I'll come back here and wait for my friends while giving them Intel on the enemy… and perhaps performing some small sabotage while I'm at it…_'

* * *

><p><em>Stanley, Governor House, three days later…<em>

He was furious to no end… One of the two downed pilot was still missing. When they searched the wreckage near Top Hill house, on the flanks of Mt Simon, they found no trace of the pilot's remain nor any sign of the ejection seat…

"_Leche, Blunt, could you stop pacing like this ?_", snapped the Argentinian governor, "That won't help our patrols find the pilot of that jet."

"_Perhaps, but it calm my nerves for sure… Nevertheless, we can't afford to have an enemy loose in the open. He may be able to gather Intel for the British._"

"_That's why you told them to search near Mt Pleasant, isn't it ?_"

"_Exactly, Governor. I'm quite sure he's somewhere around there watching us, gathering Intel for his comrades… This guy is a thorn in our feet that we must absolutely get rid of…_"

"_Then I'll let you join the search parties. You'll be their commanding officer, and they will operate directly from Mt Pleasant. I think it's time that your spying and military skills get put to use !_"

* * *

><p><em>HMS Independence, South Atlantic Ocean, February 12th.<em>

"_Damn It, James_", said Richard, "_How can an aircraft disappear like that nowadays. We should have found something…_"

"_Well, Ritch, our hard-headed superiors can think what they want, but I'm sure he's still alive somewhere…_"

"_But… Why does he not give us a sign._"

"_Perhaps he's doing it, but we're not able to hear him_."

"_James, Bro, you've just got it right. We forgot he was MI-6, so let's call them, I'm sure they'll be able to find something for us._"

At that moment, Captain Garreth entered their quarters.

"_Gentlemen, briefing with Admiral Tolland and myself in the Admiral's quarters in five minutes._"

"_Aye, Sir. We'll follow you right away !_", answered James Alexander.

Ten minutes later, both pilots were gathered in the the Admiral's quarters with Captain Garreth, Admiral Tolland and Flying Officer Thomas Harrisson…

"_First, Gentlemen, I'll ask both of you to sign the Secret Service Act, as all the data that will be disclosed here are highly classified. Only people with a level 6 accreditation are allowed to see those…_"

"_Well_", answered James Alexander, "_As both Richard and myself have already signed the document last year, and I presume that you've done it too, Harrisson_", he continued, receiving a nod from the Flight Lieutenant, "_then I don't see the use to sign it again._"

"_Well, I have no knowledge of that… So, just to be safe, would you please sign it again ?_"

"_No problem at all_.", then answered Harrisson. "_Come on, guys, it's not as we don't know what's going on, right ?_"

As they had signed the documents, Tolland continued.

"_Well, now that you've signed the document, it's time to deliver you the news : McKittrick is alive and well…_"

"_Damn, I knew it !_", then cut James, "_That damned bloke could not have died like that… He's got more lives than a cat !_"

"_Well… there's more about it… We also have an MI-6 agent to bring back from there with Intel on their air force deployment in Mount Pleasant and near the mouth of Choiseul Sound… And even better, he's no other one than the best of their agents, Alex Rider, who we thought had died in an air crash over the German coast…_"

"_Well, I see nothing special about that_", commented James Alexander.

"_Wait till I've told you that this Alex Rider and our Jonathan McKittrick are the same person…_"

"_…_"

As we both sported a total lack of surprise at this piece of news, captain Garreth cut in.

"_Well… nothing seems to shake you, it seems…_"

"_In fact, Sir, it's more because we knew of McKittrick… erm… Rider's identity from the start. He's a good friend of my brother and myself._"

"_What ?_", shouted both Tolland and Garreth while James doubled over in laughter.

"_Funny, aye ?_", added Richard, quietly chuckling.

A snort was then heard from the side where Tom Harris was sitting.

"_What's so funny about this, Harrison ?_", asked captain Garreth.

"_Well sir, it's that I've known Alex for a long time now, way back to the times we were pre-teens… And I've met James in the Mediterranean…_"

"_OK. No need to introduce you to each other, then", _cut in the Admiral. "_And about the mission, it'll involve a group of two Sea-Kings, led by Flight Lieutenant Harrison, and an escort of eight Typhoons from 617th squadron led by you, James, and the Typhoons from the 14th led by your brother Richard will launch a diversion attack against the airfield in Stanley. Any question ?_"

"_Are we to arm only air-air or fighter-bomber style ?_"

"_The escort will be armed with Aamrams, Sidewinders and Alaarm missiles for a SEAD role on the target. The 14th will be armed pure bomber style with brimstone and Alaarm missiles, and only sidewinders for protection. Also, the choppers will carry a small intervention force of two SAS platoons who will act as a cover for the Evac. The mission starts in 30 minutes, so time to get going, Gentlemen !_"

Both Alexanders, followed by Harris, left the room and rushed to the briefing room as the speakers called the pilots in briefing room. 25 minutes later, the two Sea-Kings were taking off as the Typhoon pilots were closing their cockpits one after the other, getting ready to be launched.

James, as part of the escort, was already at Catapult 1, ready to be launched at any second.

"_Rescue One to Mother Goose_", called Harris on the radio, "_Rescue flight is in formation and clear of the range !_"

"_Copy that, Rescue One. Tallboy One, you're clear to take-off !_"

"_Will do, Mother Goose_", then said James, saluting the yellow shirt in the same time.

"_Cat One, Launch !_"

The Yellow shirt saluted James back and in an fluid movement, he crouched down, extending his right arm to the front of the carrier, fingers to the deck. The Catapult officer at the operating room then pushed a button, releasing the steam in the pistons and the Typhoon was then launched to the clear blue skies of the South Atlantic.

* * *

><p><em>Choiseul Sound, four miles east of Mare Harbour<em>

Alex had moved to that point after he overheard a coded message on his radio, coming from one of the fleet's Typhoons. They knew he was alive and were coming to get him back. He was quietly settled near the shore, waiting for the helicopter, when he overheard a car engine somewhere up on the road… A quick glance showed him it was a military Jeep coming up the dirt track north-west of his position, with a soldier and a civilian coming out. In the civilian, he immediately recognised Alan Blunt. After a few minutes, they came his way and, from his hiding point, he overheard their conversation.

"_Look, teniente, from the communication you intercepted I can tell you there's something brewing up, and I'm pretty sure the bloody pilot we're searching for is in the area. If I'd guess, and I'd do it as I'm sure that I'm right, I'd tell he's not hiding far away from here. Call Stanley and ask them to put the fighter squadrons on alert and to send a platoon here, Pronto !_"

"_Si, Senhor Blunt !_"

Hearing that his friend would be heading into a trap, Alex quickly forgot about his own security and walked straight to the men.

"_Well, Blunt, you were right on one thing : I'm not far away ! But your trap will never happen !_", he told the stunned men… and then fired twice on the Argentinian soldier who tried to make a run for the car, killing him instantly.

Blunt then snapped into action, also trying to run to the Jeep, but that was counting without Alex who fired again, hitting him in the leg…

"_Well, dear old fellow, I'd be damned if I would let you crash this party of mine… Consider yourself my prisoner… and if you ever try to escape again, I won't be so nice and will hit somewhere else… well, let's say more painful for your manly pride !_"

Blunt, sensing he was defeated, remained still as Alex took out his radio to call the rescue flight.

"_Lone Hawk to Rescue Squadron, Over !_"

"_Lone Hawk from Rescue Squadron. Tallboy One here… You're OK ?_"

"_Negative, Jim._", Alex answered, having recognized his friend's voice, "_Got a bandit locked and another out. Oh, and by the way, they monitor our cackling, so you better be aware they'll throw all their stuff at you_"

"_Roger that, Lone Hawk. ETA in Charlie Echo, we'll be ready to welcome them warmly ! Tallboy, Out !_"

* * *

><p><strong>AN : And that's it for "Behind Enemy Lines". In next chapter, we'll have the rescue mission and more action, and for the first time Alex will be able to confront Blunt about what he had done to him during and after Scorpia Rising (I know first I would do as if it never happened, but I've finally found a way to incorporate it in the story, only changing a bit the end (Alex won't move to the states, but the Pleasure will come back to the UK, to both Alex and Sabina's… pleasure ! (Ha, couldn't help it, I had to make that pun !)<strong>

**So, see you next time in "The traitor and the Hero". And Please pretty Please, be indulgent with me if it takes some time again for this chapter to come out, as I'm quite busy at the time both at work and at home.**


	17. Author Note

**Author Note**

**Dear Readers,**

**I'm terribly sorry about this, but I have to put this story on « Hold » for around a few weeks.**

**In fact, the next chapter is nearly ready, but yesterday came one of the darkest days in my life. My mother (who had already lung problems) had been admitted to the ICU as her lung problems became critical and she also suffered of kidney malfunction.**

**That's why I'll dedicate all my time from now on to visit and support her, and also to help my dad to run the house and take care of himself (he's been badly affected by this, and it will be best if I stay near for the next few weeks – I even got a leave of absence from work for this)**

**I'll give you some news as soon as I can (hopefully as an AN in the next chapter of Codename Excalibur).**

**I hope you'll understand my reasons to put the story on temporary hold. Don't be afraid though, I'll finish it, that's for sure (the canevas of the end is nearly finished, I was putting the last touches to the retaking of the falklands canevas and timeline).**

**Thanks for your understanding,**

**Your author,**

**Eric J. Alderson.**


	18. Chapter 16 : The Traitor and the Hero

**Author Notes : Firstly, I'd like to thank all my readers for their support and their patience. My mother is now back home, and even if her health won't get back to what it was before, she's way better, even if she has to have an oxygen support permanently from now on and we've got to adapt our schedules to accomodate the help we have to give her. **

**And finally, here comes a new chapter. It's the prelude to several more animated chapters that will follow (the retaking of the Islands), but in here you'll understand better why Alex is so harsh towards Blunt... I plan on writing a one-shot prequel detailing those "events" that lead Alex to have such an attitude towards Blunt later when this story is finished.  
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**But enough chit-chat, let's move to the disclaimers : I still do not own Alex Rider. It's solely Anthony Horrowitz's property. Only the plot and the OC's are mine.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 16 : The Traitor and the Hero<strong>

As soon as James had logged off, Alex turned back to Blunt who was silently observing him…

- "_OK, Blunt, Here's how it'll work : You'll go with one of the SAS platoons in one of the choppers, and I'll go in the other one. Any dirty trick or move from you, and you'll end up with a bullet of mine in your head, understood ?"_

- "_Quite well… but Good Loord, what has happened to your pity ? Couldn't you let me at least the chance to end this the right way ?"_

- "_How can you think that you deserve my pity ? Had you an ounce of it for me when you let me believe that Jack had dead ? And when you told her I had died ? And what about when you tried to kill me and Sabina when we foiled your plans ? To Hell I'll have pity for you ! You'll come back to Britain to face your judges and end up with a rope around your neck ! You don't deserve more than that, and it's not by pity for you but by sheer humanity I don't kill you slowly and creatively here !",_ Alex answered, his eyes full of anger and hatred towards the man that nearly destroyed his life and the ones of his loved ones.

Blunt, seeing the hateful glances Alex sent him, cowered in fear, realizing only at that moment what he had done to this young man… He remained silent as Alex let him down and went to the shore, his eyes searching afar for the rescue squadron that was approaching.

* * *

><p><em><span>Tallboy One, 16 miles south-east of Fitzroy.<span>_

After twenty more minutes of flight, they were about to turn north to the extraction point when their radars gave them their first warning : enemy aircrafts were taking-off from Mount Pleasant, two pairs of Iai "Daggers", Israeli-modernized Mirages V's, and heading straight for the rescue package.

- "_Rescue, Tallboy_", called James, "_Four bandits low ahead, leaving Mt Pleasant. Stay low to avoid radar detection, we're on intercept course of those party crashers !_"

- "_Wilco, Tallboy_", called back Harris in the leading Sea-King.

The choppers continued on their way towards the mouth of Choiseul Sound as the Tiffies **(1)** turned right, climbing fast to the North.

- "_Well, Phil_", called Harris to his co-pilot, "_I really hope they'll intercept those enemy fighters. I'd rather not hike down there with the Argies breathing down our necks…"_

- "_Don't worry, Tommy boy, what can a bunch of Mirage jets do against our "top of the art" Typhoons ? Our boys'll swat them like a swarm of flies…"_

- "_Well, my friend Jonathan fought them from the start, and he still has been shot down twice by those bastards… So, better safe then sorry. Let's go on the assumption that they're aces and that they've modernized jets !"_

- "_Wait… Jonathan… You mean, as in Jonathan McKittrick ? the one who fought single-handedly eight SEM **(2)** and downed four of those demons in the same fight ? "_

- "_The one and only ! He's only 25 and is already a double ace with twelve kills confirmed and two probable…_ "

- _"Well, we better listen to what he says and act upon it, then…"_

- _"You've said it, Phil !"_

* * *

><p><em><span>Choiseul Sound's mouth, at the same time…<span>_

Alex knew immediately that something was awry as, suddenly, he heard the roar of jet engines. True enough, he quickly saw the four Daggers streaking the skies to the south-eath…

- _"Well, Blunt, seems they've taken the bait"_, snickered Alex to his prisoner. _"They're bound to our fighter escort… Hope they've learned to swim…"_

- _"If you think you'll escape like that, you're more foolish than I thought. They'll try everything to rescue me…"_

- _"Well, sorry to disappoint you, Blunt, but how will they know you're with us ? "_

That seemed to silence Blunt as Alex turned south as the syncopated hum of helicopter blades made themselves heard. Sure enough, the two Sea-King choppers were approaching the coast line at low altitude, heading straight for them.

* * *

><p><em><span>Rescue One, at the same moment…<span>_

- _"Tommy, there, at one o'clock !"_, called his co-pilot.

- _"Okay, seen'em, Phil ! "_, answered Harris then, calling the other helicopter,_ "Rescue One to Rescue Two, target in sight, two klicks dead ahead !"_

- _"Two, copy that, Leader !"_

- _"Phil"_, called Tom again, _"get to the rear and tell those SAS-blokes that we're going in hot !"_

- _"Aye, Tommy Boy !"_

Soon enough, the two helicopters landed on the beach. The SAS platoons, K and D units, rushed to form a secure perimeter while K-unit leader went to the downed pilot…

-_ "Dammit, Cub, could you try to crash closer to the station, next time ? You know I hate flying !"_

- _"Sorry 'bout that, Wolf, but I really had no choice but to alight here… And don't forget the little present I'm bringing back with me…"_

- _"Present ? what present ?"_, asked Wolf, astonished. Then he saw Blunt who was handcuffed emerge from behind a bush. _"Wha… How… "_, he then stuttered, totally flabbergasted.

- _"Long story short, I just found him near, had to kill his guards, and here he is… I'm sure Jones and the other blokes back in HQ will be glad to get him back, don't you think ?"_

- _"Aye…"_, answered laconically Wolf._ "D Unit", he then yelled to the other platoon, "Get him in Rescue Two !"_, then, turning again to Alex, _"And you, you come with us in Rescue One. Your pals there are taking care of their fighters, but the faster we're out of here the better."_

- _"Aye ! Let's go then !"_

* * *

><p><em><span>Tallboy Squadron, near Fitzroy Settlement.<span>_

-_ "Leader, Two, splash one !"_

- _"Lead, copy. Three, look out for that bastard in your four !"_

-_ "Seen him, leader ! thanks !"_

- _"Four, Fox Three on the southern element !"_

- _"Damn… Lead, two, Fox Fox Fox ! **(3)** They have SAMS here… Two… no, three Aapex **(4)** inbound !"_

- _"Leader to all, break !"_

The Typhoons then broke formation and launched in an extensive display of evasive maneuvers while releasing chaffs to lure the SAMs. As soon as the threat was over, James switched in air to ground mode. Sure enough, he detected the SAM site on his radar and as he got it locked, he fired two ALAARM missiles on them.

-_ "Tallboy Leader, firing two ALAARMs **(5)** on the SAM site !"_

The station quickly shut its radar down but hard luck for them, the Alaarm missiles had the ability to target their last position should they shut down. And true to their aim, they both impacted on the SAM site's radar a few seconds later, blowing it to smithereens and damaging the Sams close to it. Jim then called the helicopters.

- _"Tallboy One to Rescue One, status ?"_

- _"Rescue One and Two egressing, mission completed. We're 20 clicks off point Alpha now."_

- _"Roger that, Rescue One. We're on our way to escort you. Tallboy, Out !"_

* * *

><p><em><span>HMS Independence, one hour later…<span>_

The last Typhoon had just landed when the door of Rescue One opened on Alex and K-Unit. Tom soon joined them as they waited near the Island for the pilots of the Tiffies.

Soon enough, they saw Tallboy and Penguin pilots coming from the parking area, with at the rear their friends James and Richard, engaged in a heated tactical discussion about their fights…

- _"Told you so, I just pulled the stick right and backwards and as my Tiffie barrel-rolled, I saw the bloody Argie zooming past… As soon as I had leveled, I was two hundred yards behind him and just had to squeeze the trigger and… Kerrr-Booooom ! He just blew up right in front of me… I had even to pull up hard to avoid the fireball… "_

-_ "Well, I have not seen any fighter, but for sure our was was paved with triple-A guns…**(6)** The flak **(7)** was so thik you could have walked on it… "_

- _"Hey, Guys !"_, called Alex, _"Scared the hell out of those poor Argies again, I see ?"_

-_ "Jonathan ?"_, asked James, taking in his friend's shaggy and grimy appearance.

- _"Yup",_ Alex answered, _"Sorry for that shaggy furry face, but there was no way to get shaved in that bloody tin can…"_

-_ "Yeehaa !_", then yelled Richard; _"I knew you'd be OK !"_

Alex suddenly walked towards the second chopper, excusing himself to his friends, and as he reached it he saw Blunt being escorted on the deck by K-Unit…

- _"Wolf, get him to the detention block and put him to secret confinement. I'll see that he's properly interrogated later !"_

- _"Aye, Cub !"_, answered Wolf.

- _"Oh, and by the way"_, Alex added,_ "make sure he's treated well… We're no barbarians, you know…"_

-_ "Sure, Al !"_

* * *

><p><em><span>South Atlantic, 80 miles S-E of Fitzroy…<span>_

Two days had gone by since Alex had been rescued by the SAS team, and he spent most of that time resting in his quarters after being threatened to Court Martial by the Skipper when he tried to get immediately back to work.

Now, well rested and shaved save for a mustache he kept, he was climbing the ladder to the bridge where he was to report for duty…

- _"Glad to see you well rested, Rider"_, welcomed Admiral Tolland, _"We'll have a full briefing this afternoon about the next move in this campaign."_

- _"Perfect, Sir. By the way, no news from our prisoner ? "_

- _"Nay, he hasn't uttered a word in the last 48 hours…"_

- _"Seems he's the same cold hearted bastard I knew back then. Some things never change, I guess…"_

- _"Well, feel free to try him if you want, any information would be useful at this stage…"_

- _"I think I'll pass, Sir. There's really no use as I won't get anything out of that bastard. I'll rather check the latest intel and our OPS plans before the briefing."_

- _"As you wish. Well, then, I won't hold you anymore. Dismissed !"_

- _"Aye, Sir"_, answered Alex and he went right to the OPS Room as Tolland got back in his seat, his thoughts back to the task at hand.

* * *

><p><strong>Footnotes :<br>**

**1) Tiffies : Nickname given to the Hawker Typhoon during WWII. It's given also to the new Eurofighter Typhoon by the pilots and crew of the RAF.  
><strong>

**2) SEM, for "Super Etendard Marine", it's the other name of the french-build carrier-based Super-etendard Jet.  
><strong>

**3) Fox Fox Fox, is the radio call emitted by a pilot to warn its wingmen that SAM missiles had been fired on them.  
><strong>

**4) AAPEX: code for a SAM missile guided by radar.  
><strong>

**5) ALAARM : Anti-Radiation (anti-radar) missile, the equivalent of the USAF/USN HARM. It's a "fire and forget" missiles that target the radar sites homing on their radar emission. And if even the radar is shut down, the "brain" of the missile continues to the last known position of the radar.  
><strong>

**6) triple-A Guns : for Anti-Aircraft Artillery Guns  
><strong>

**7) Flak : Nickname of the Triple-A, from the German Anti-aircraft artillery name during WWII (Flugzeug Abwehr Kanone)  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>And Voila... The End for this chapter. I really hope you enjoyed it. And it also serves as a way to fully integrate the "Scorpia Rising" story in Alex's history without having Jack dying... Clever isn't it ?<br>Well, for the next chapters, we'll have the beginning of the retaking of the Falklands by the British troops, packed with action both on the ground, in the air and on the seas...  
><strong>

**Also, please, don't forget to leave a review with your comments on the chapter and the story. It's what fuels me to write more and also helps me to improve my writing.  
><strong>

**Well, until next time in chapter 17 : Operation "Excalibur" !  
><strong>


	19. Chapter 17 : Operation Excalibur

**Author Note : All my apologies to my readers for this long and unwanted "blank" in the story. In fact, after my mother health problems, I had myself a great health issue with my back. When all went well again, I went under contract with a british editor to write a book about Railway Modelling techniques, so that's why I was so long away from the story. **

**It may also take some time for the next chapter to come out, as I'm also working on my book that is in its final phase of writing, so be warned that you may have to wait a bit for chapter 18. But enough talking, let's give place to...**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 17 : Operation "Excalibur"<strong>

**_Choiseul Sound, March 10__th__, 00:20 Zulu_**

The landing ships were lined up against the Liverpool and the Brighton, the two container ships converted as troop transport. Ten miles west of their position was the mouth of Choiseul Sound and the village of Mare Harbour...

The troops were getting slowly in their LST's as the initial landing would happen in only a few hours on the beach of East Cove. A Commando battalion was the first who would get on the beach. From there they would secure the landing point and then take Mare Harbour, from where our troops would then be able to alight safely on the docks of Mare Harbour and enter inland to retake the former RAF Station at Mount Pleasant.

The Independence and his escort were further east, about 50 miles off the mouth of the sound. The pilots, fast asleep in their seats in the briefing room, were already clad in their flying suits, ready for action.

On the deck, an erie calm could be observed, but in the main hangars it looked more like a group of working bees swarming around as the crews were busy servicing and arming the Typhoons with both anti-aircraft and air to ground armament. A mess of Brimstone, Alaarm, Sidewinder and Aamram missiles were scattered all over the hangars as they were being loaded on the fighters.

At 03:00 Zulu, as the first LST's were starting to sail towards their concentration point, they were woken up by the speakers blaring the «General Quarters» call. Alex and James were already awake, but for the others as Richard, this was quite the wake-up call...

«_Gentlemen_», called the CO as he entered the room a few minutes later, going to the mural map of the Falklands, «_Time's up for the Argies. In an hour, our troops will land east of Mare Harbour and progress to take the settlement. As he spent some time there both as a pilot in Mt Pleasant but also gathering Intel for us the last few days, I'll let Flight Lieutenant Rider conduct this briefing. Rider ?_»

«_Thanks, Sir. First things first, for those who would not already know the story, McKittrick isn't my real name. I'm Alexander John Rider, Former MI-6 and SAS. I was in fact hiding from a criminal organisation under the name of McKittrick, as they tried to kill me and my family last year._»

«_This said, here's our target for today : Mare Harbour's defenses. They lately installed triple-A and SAM batteries, and also brought artillery guns in the mouth of Choiseul Sound to protect the way to Darwin and Goose Green Settlement, where they have also a garrison_.»

«_The objective of our mission will be to take down those defenses as fast as possible. Then, we'll turn to Mount Pleasant air base, where the Argies have based a squadron of Daggers and another of Puccaras. While Squadron 15__,__ led by Squadron Leader Richard Alexander - Callsign Batter - will bomb the positions in Mare Harbour. Squadron 617__, led by Squadron Leader James Alexander - callsign Pitcher - will take care of the triple-A and SAM batteries radar sites and then will proceed to bomb the base in Mount Pleasant. One flight from both squadron, lead by myself, will form the 1__st__ Naval Air Squadron - callsign Seeke - and act as close air patrol over the area. Our job will be to intercept any enemy fighter coming over the area_.»

«_While the strike is on, the Harriers from the 801__st__ NAS - codename Ferret - will launch from the HMS Ocean and conduct a raid on the airfield in Port Stanley. The 802__nd -__ codename Seagull - will launch from the HMS Illustrious in the North, will also conduct an operation against the airstrips in Fox Bay as an SAS commando, coming also from the Lusty, will target the airstrip in Pebble_.»

«_After this mission, the motto is to head back here. Squadron 15__ will then act as Close Air Support for the troops on the ground, and Squadron 617__ will proceed to seek and sink the Sao Paulo. Any questions ?_»

«_Sir_», asked a young pilot, «_what if their carrier fleet strikes while we're elsewhere conducting our strikes_ _?_»

«_Well, that's why I formed the 1__st__ NAS for the CAP missions. We'll patrol between the Independence and Choiseul Sound by pairs. Also, the HMS Ocean will launch the Sea-Harriers of 803__ NAS - codename Lancer - if the need ever arises. Any more questions ? No ? Ok then, time to kick some major Ass !_»

The pilots then rushed out of the room to their aircrafts while I remained alone there with Richard and James.

«_Guys ? Be careful there, ok ? Those bastards are no joke, I've already faced them in combat and I know for sure they're well trained pilots !_»

«_Don't worry, Al, it'll be all right. See you later_», answered Richard as he too was leaving the briefing room.

«_Alex, be careful there too, ok ?_», James said to his friend too.

«_I'll try, Jim. Though, if the worse should happen, take care of my family for me, would you ? And tell Sab I love her... and that I'm sorry..._»

«_Stop that nonsense, Alex», snapped James, «You'll come back, just watch your back and all will be fine !_»

«_Jim..._»

«_Ok, I promise. But be assured that if you die out there, I'll chase you all the way down to Hell to kick your sorry arse, understood ?_»

«_Aye, Jim. Safe flight, and good hunt !_»

«_You too, old chap, and good luck !_»

* * *

><p><strong><em>Above East Cove, thirty minutes later... <em>**

As the LST's were getting ready to head for their landing points, a mighty roar was heard coming from afar… Soon enough the Typhoons from squadrons 15 and 617 were roaring over the small ships, heading towards the beaches, as high above white contrails could be seen whirling trough the skies, betraying the fighting occuring above between the Argentinian fighters and the Typhoons from 1 NAS…

Leading them, Alex was engaged in quite a heated dogfight against an enemy Dagger… But as he was finally ready to fire a Sidewinder at him, his wingman called him on the radio.

"_Razgriz __Two to leader, bandit in our six, closing in…_"

"_Razgriz __One, Fox Two ! _Razgriz _Two, Break formation. Let's show that bastard who are the real aces here…_"

Alex turned hard to the right as his wingman went in a dive, turning left… the Dagger went immediately after Razgriz two and, seeing that, Alex immediately reversed his turn, diving inverted on the bandit…

"_Razgriz __Two, I'm on the bandit… Climb in a right turn at my mark_", he said as he slowly gained on the Dagger… "_Mark !_"

The Typhoon then climbed in front of Alex's fighter, closely followed by the Argentinian fighter who was closing in for the kill… This was without counting on Alex, centering the Dagger in his sights, fired two short bursts of his Mauser cannon ...

"_Guns Guns_", he said as he saw the bullets hitting the enemy fighter who immediately started to emit smoke, his nose suddenly dropping as the canopy was jettisoned. "_Spash one, gun kill_", he then announced as the Argentinian pilot ejected of his aircraft who went spiralling down to the waters below.

"_Thanks, Leader_", called his number two.

"_Razgriz __Leader to all Seeker aircrafts, status_"

"_Razgriz __Red Two, I'm OK._"

"_Razgriz __Red Three, One bandit down, all seems clear…_"

"_Razgriz __Red Four, I'm all right._"

"_Razgriz __Blue, no bandits in the area… We rejoin._"

"_All right, Boys… Let's get back to our station above the fleet, Angels 20._"

About ten minutes later, as they were patrolling over Choiseul Sound, Alex got a message from the Independence.

"_Razgriz, Mother Hen, proceed back to base, enemy fleet detected_"

"_Roger that, Mother Hen. Razgriz One to all, heard the lady ? Let's get back for beans._"

* * *

><p><strong><em>USS Independence, 40 minutes later.<em>**

As Alex and his pilots came in the briefing room, they were joined by James and his pilots from Squadron 617.

"_Hey, Al_", called James, "_Any luck over there ?_"

"_Yup… Got two of'em, Daggers. Relatively easy, might I say. And you ?_"

"_Just a milk run. Dropped our eggs on the Argie's position, and we were on our way back. Too easy really._"

"_Well, seems your plea for some more stressful mission will be answered_", cut Admiral Tolland as he came in, "_You're going against the Sao Paulo, London has given the green light and deemed their carrier a legitimate target._"

"_Finally… Seems my reports were efficient enough to decide them to finally let us strike them where it really hurts!_"

"_More than that… As you'll be striking their fleet, two of our subs will launch Tomahawk missiles on their main airbases on the mainland. This, we hope, will crush the Argie's will to fight and make them keep part of their forces to protect their homeland_."

"_Well, that remains to be seen_", cut one of Jim's pilots.

"_Ya know, Laddie (1)_", cut Alex in, "_I've seen how they operate while yomping near Choiseul Sound and I can tell you that only that strong a response will make them think twice and come to the conclusion that stopping this nonsense is the only way for them to avoid further destruction on both their troops here and in their homeland._"

"_You seem to know them quite well, sir_", then answered another of the young pilots.

"_I know them way too close for my own comfort, Lad. Mainly the ones that are at the heart of this damned war… We need to make the Argie's PMs see the errors of their ways and then we'll help them hunt those bastards down._", Alex answered again.

"_OK. Enough about their motives, let's stick to the mission, please_", concluded Tolland. "_Alex, you take on from here please ?_"

"_Aye, Sir._", Alex replied and then faced his pilots. "_As you surely guessed, a high prize target such as their carrier never sails off without a protective netword, just as our good old lady here does. From our Intel reports, we have gathered that their carrier is flanked by four destroyers, two cruisers and a fleet or other support ships. They also have two subs in the area, but they'll be taken care of by one of our Astute class subs._"

"_Any Aegis (2) ?"_, asked Jim's number two.

"_Nope, but they have an upgraded defense system on both the Sao Paulo and two of the destroyers, something akin to a first generation Aegis. Therefore, I'd recommend we strike with Harpoons fired from maximal range from high altitude_"

"_If I may speak frankly, Sir, but I disagree on that tactic_", cut Alex, "_There's another way to do this as they'll surely be aware of any sub threat in their vicinity as well as of our aircraft's abilities... No, the best way to operate is to perform a sneak attack using a decoy. I will lead the high level attack with the 617th from twenty thousand feet to lure them away of the real package. Jim, you think you'll be able to lead a zero feet level attack run ?_»

«_Aye, Lad. I've already done it in Libya as have my guys. You can count on us !_»

«_Brilliant, then. We'll load Razgriz Blue and Red flights with full AA ammo as Yellow section and the 617th will be loaded with two harpoons and two sidewinders for self defense. Razgriz Yellow will fire their Harpoons first, so they think we're the only threat in the area. Of course, you'll perform your run with your radars on passive mode only, we'll feed you all intel available via the JTIDS (3)._»

«_Ha ! They'll never know what hit them..._», cut in James, «_They'll focus on your missiles while ours will go undetected until too late... Bloody brilliant, may I add !_»

«_Indeed, gentlemen_», added Tolland, «_I think that if this works, we'll call this tactic the «Ghost of Razgriz (4)»... The name alone will then strike fear in 'em_».

«_Okay_», Alex then concluded, «_Take-Off in 30 minutes. If you need me, I'll be in my quarters._»

* * *

><p><strong><em>South Atlantic, off the coast of <em>_West Falkland Island, 40 minutes later..._**

Aboard Razgriz one, James was checking his radar screen, even if he had shut the emitter down to passive mode, he still had all information needed Alex feeded him via the JTIDS. Four aircraft, probably the alert patrol, had taken off to meet the high formation, unaware of the ones sneaking trough at sea level, hidden in the surface ghost echo. He was about to start his climb to five hundred feet to fire his two harpoon missiles when he got a call from Alex.

«_Razgriz to Pitcher, enemy CAP is on us, you're clear to proceed to the Fat Lady_»

«_Copy, Razgriz. Pitcher going in hot !_»

Jim then started to climb and, reaching five hundred feet, he called his group.

«_Pitcher One to all Pitchers, weapons clear ! Tally-Ho !_»

* * *

><p><strong><em>NAS Sao Paulo, Operations room.<em>**

«_Teniente_», called a radar operator to his officer, «_contact at 30 miles, bearing 070. I count eight spots_.»

«_Ay Caramba !_», spat the officer, pressing the Scramble horn button as he turned to the mike, «_Aero, Ops, bandits at angels point five, bearing zero seven zero. Presumed Hostile. Scramble the five minute alert !_»

Then, a scream came from the radar operator.

«_Alert, high velocity objects detected... It's missiles fired upon us !_»

«_Activate all anti-air defenses, seal all compartments», shouted the officer before turning again to the mike, «Bridge, Ops, make them hurry with the launch, we have missiles incoming !_»

«_Teniente_», called then the operator, «_Twenty seconds to impact... it's too late !_»

«_Hostia !_»

Those were the last words in the Ops room before all Hell broke loose... The newly installed Gatlings and anti-missiles defenses locked onto the approaching missiles, but they were too few and too late. Even if some of the missiles had been shot down or lured to other targets, six of them still headed towards the doomed carrier and, as the C-WIZ (5) shot three of them, the three last ones hit the Sao Paulo hard. The first missile hit at the rear of the carrier, wreaking havoc in the engine compartment and rendering the ship motionless. The second hit the island, killing everyone except a few lucky ones on the Bridge. The third sealed the fate of the wounded ship as it hit in the hangar bay. Thirty minutes later, as the last surviving crew member were winched aboard the Almirante Brown, the Sao Paulo sunk, bringing under the waves with him nearly half of her crew of twenty hundred men.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Jim's Typhoon, high above the South Atlantic Ocean...<em>**

«_Pitcher to Razgriz, targit hit confirmed, abort mission, repeat Abort mission_», called Jim as he was climbing trough ten thousand feet, witnessing the utter destruction his squadron had brought to the enemy fleet... «_The Fat Lady is sinking and two other ships are badly hit..._»

«_Razgriz, Wilco !_», answered Alex, «_Let's get back to base !_»

«_Pitcher, Will do !_».

They all then turned back to the Islands, heading towards the Independance and a well earned rest, yet they were not cheerful so far as they were well aware that their attack had brought death to more than a thousand Argentine sailors...

* * *

><p><strong>Technical Notes : <strong>

**_(1) : Laddie (or Lad) : Equivalent of "Kiddo" for the Scots._**

**_(2) AEGIS : The Aegis Combat System is an integrated naval weapons system using powerful computers and radars to track and guide weapons to destroy enemy targets._**

**_(3) JTIDS : The Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS) is an L band TDMA network radio system used by the United States armed forces and their allies to support data communications needs, principally in the air and missile defense community. It provides high-jam-resistance, high-speed, crypto-secure computer-to-computer connectivity in support of every type of military platform from Air Force fighters to Navy submarines._**

**__(4) Ghosts of Razgriz : Reference to the famous game "Ace Combat" and the name given to the fighters of the Sand Island Squadron : "Ghosts of Razgriz".__**

**__(5) C-WIZ : nickname given to the Phalanx CIWS. It's a close-in weapon system for defending against anti-ship missiles consisting of a radar-guided 20 mm (0.79 in) Gatling gun mounted on a swiveling base. Because of their distinctive barrel-shaped radome and their automated nature of operation, Phalanx CIWS units are sometimes nicknamed "R2-D2" after the famous droid from Star Wars, and in the Royal Navy as "Daleks", after the aliens from Doctor Who. The Block 1A and newer (pneumatic driven) CIWS mounts fire at a rate of 4,500 rounds per minute and also had the larger 1,550 round magazine. The velocity of the rounds once fired is approximately 3,600 feet per second (1,100 m/s).__**

* * *

><p><strong>AN : Voila. That's it for this chapter, and I finally got rid of the Sao Paulo... In the next chapter, we'll concentrate more on the landing operations and the retaking of the RAF airbase in Mount Pleasant. So, till next time, chaps.<strong>


End file.
